The Apocalypse
by Aquamarine99
Summary: What happens when the town she lived in became a war zone of Humans vs Zombies? Who will survive? Who will turn? And who will die? Follow Sumika and her friends as they battle for their lives, meet new friends and overcome their fears to make it out of this catastrophe alive. Sumika x Ushio Tomoe X Miyako pairings. ON TEMPORARY HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first ever fan fiction. I haven't got a beta so please ignore any grammar or spelling errors. I wrote this ff cuz there were so few ff stories about Sumika and Kazama, and I personally wished there was more action in the anime/manga.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sasameki Koto or any of the characters.

* * *

A loud sigh escape Kazama Ushio's lips. She turns to look at her best friend Murasame Sumika staring blankly out the window, her head casually resting on her right palm. Class was even more boring than usual as sneakily continued admiring pictures of adorable teenage girls in a magazine she bought the day before. '_Why is it so hard to find my soul mate?'_ Another sigh.

Finally the bell that signifies the end of the day rang piercinglythroughout the silent classroom. Everyone hurriedly rose to leave the classroom. Sumika, however, took awhile to realise the bell had rung.

"Murasame-kun! Tonight's Girl's Club meeting will be held at your place okay?" Tomoe asked, or rather demanded.

"No" Sumika responded quickly, her mind going over the plans she already had for the night.

"We'll invite big boobs..."

"In fact, we already did Murasame-kun. Now, you really can't expect us to-"

"I have plans tonight. Aoi's parents are going out of the country to take care of some family issues so they asked whether she could stay with me."

"So?"

"SO! I don't want you weirdo's, with the exception of Kazama, to freak her out on her first night at my house." Sumika stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Standing up with her bag slung over her shoulder.

"Who're you calling a weirdo? You giant monster!" Miyako howled.

"Who do you think midget?" Sumika replied with the same level of (playful) irritation. And as per usual, the two start pulling at each other's hair in their usual skirmish all the while Tomoe is deep in thought.

Shortly after, Kazama joins the trio, smiling as she watched Sumika argue with Miyako.

"I still don't see the problem Murasame-kun." Tomoe finally said.

"What problem, Sumi-chan? Is it about tonight? If it's troublesome, I can always just go home." Kazama suggested innocently as Tomoe and Miyako grinned victoriously.

"Ahh, ah, it's nothing really. I just... Well. Aoi-san is..."

"Murasame-san, are you ready?" Azusa Aoi rushes over to look expectantly at Sumika.

"Ready... for what? Sumi-chan?" Kazama asked. _'Weren't we going over to Sumi-chan's house today? Tomoe-chan never mentioned Aoi-san..."_

"Well, Aoi-san's parents are going overseas... so Aoi-san will be staying with me for awhile..." Sumika nervously scratched the back of her head, "But it's okay, the more the merrier right? But only if it's okay with you, Aoi-san."

"Huh? Of course! I'm already causing you so much trouble with my intrusion, how could I possibly say no?"

"Don't say that. There was nothing you could do and my dad's more than willing to help-" whatever Sumika said after that was cut off as a fighter plane flew dangerously close to the school building at top speed.

The 5 girls stood silently as the plane sped past, leaving a feeling of ill omen amongst them. Sumika was the first to break the silence, "that was probably the 8th plane I've seen fly past our school today... What do you think is going on?"

A moment of silence followed.

"Whatever it is, we'll find out on the news today. We better start moving now. Before it gets dark." Tomoe said and they all nodded.

* * *

In Sumika's house

The quiet chattering of voices echoed throughout the house. For once, there were no battle cries from the dojo next door because all the members of the Murasame dojo were at one of their rival's dojo, the Gyofukan Dojo, competing in an impromptu challenge.

Only one member stayed behind, preferring the company of her friends to ditching them to beat the pride of bulky men to the ground. Though the latter was very tempting.

Finally at 9pm, Tomoe decided it was time to head home and now they all stood at the front gates of the Murasame household. The dojo members still hadn't returned.

As they were bidding their farewells, the most unexpected happened.

Several jet planes flew past their heads just as multiple thunderous, earth-shattering explosions occurred all around them. The girls were thrown backwards to the ground as rubble and pebbles were flung towards them. Fires roared to life, giving the night skies an ominous crimson colour. Screams sliced through the serene night like a nightmare come to life.

Groaning painfully, Sumika lifted herself on her arms. Her head was throbbing and she could feel something damp running down her face and arms.

"Sumi-chan...Are you okay?" a terrified voice asked from below her. Slowly opening her eyes, she realised Kazama was underneath her.

Ignoring her previous question, Sumika panicked, "Kazama! Are you hurt? Do you feel pain anywhere? Oh my god, is that blood?"

"Sumi-chan, I'm fine... It's..."

"You're not fine, you're bleeding!"

"It's not my blood, Sumi-chan, it's your blood." Carefully, Kazama extended a hand to move Sumika's bangs to the side. Revealing an ugly gash on the top right side of her head where she must've accidentally landed on.

"Oh. Don't worry. It doesn't hurt. Come on, let's make sure the others are okay." Swiftly rising from atop Kazama, she offered a hand, which Kazama gladly took.

"Murasame-kun, are you- Oh my..." From the rubble, Miyako, Tomoe and Aoi emerged. All were covered in scratches, grazes and ash. However, Tomoe's knees seemed to have sustained the worse damage of them all.

"I'm fine. More importantly, what the heck's going on?"

Sirens were wailing in the distance along with the eerie sound of horrified screeches. More planes flew past and a deafening sound could be heard nearby... the sound of gunfire.

"I don't know. But we best go indoors for now."

With that, they all shuffled inside in a hurry. Sumika locked the doors behind them just in case.

"Electricity's out. Do you have any candles?" Tomoe asked.

"They're over here. Matches are in the drawer over there." Sumika replied.

Kazama, Aoi and Miyako were huddled together in a corner of the dining room while Tomoe and Sumika hurriedly tried to seal the windows and doors around the small dining room with shaking hands. Kazama and Aoi were rapidly messing with their phones as they desperately tried to contact their family members.

"Can you get anything?" Aoi whispered, her voice quivering with fear as the earlier explosion continued to ring in her ears.

Kazama shook her head, "There's no reception. Miyako-chan, maybe your phone..."

Miyako gingerly took out her mobile phone. She pressed a few buttons and her phone came to life, "No signal on mine either."

"T-this is bad. W-we can't call for help at all! We can't even contact our family! Unless! I can access the internet on my phone. Maybe that'll-"

"Well, Aoi-san?" Kazama asked, hope filled her very being at the prospect of knowing her brother was alright.

"There... there isn't a single wireless connetion in the area. Why isn't there any reception? Or internet? What's going on?" Aoi began to panic. Her family was overseas but she still wanted them to know she was okay when they heard about the explosions on the news. Or perhaps she just wanted to hear their comforting voices.

"Aoi-san, there's no electricity in my house and all the houses I can see from here. And judging by how dark it is everywhere, we can safely assume that the whole city doesn't have power." Sumika explained as she and Tomoe continued to check every corner of the room.

"Without electricity, this city will have nothing. No phone signals, no internet, no TV and no radio. Nothing." Tomoe continued. When she and Sumika finished surveying the little room, they returned to the other 3 girls with a lighted candle in one hand.

"Not to mention my houses' central heating is down." Sumika added as the sound of gunfire slowly crept closer. Sumika and Tomoe shared a look, both knowing exactly what was on the other's mind.

"Alright, listen up you 3, you are to stay here and stay hidden. Understand?" Tomoe ordered.

"Blow out the candles the moment you hear someone nearby." Sumika told them as they handed them 2 candles.

"Whe-where are you two going?" Kazama whispered, eyes full of fear.

"We need to lock up the doors and windows around the house." Tomoe said as Sumika nodded, refusing to look at Kazama's worried filled eyes. Knowing that once she did, she would never leave the girl's side again.

"But it's dangerous Tomoe-chan!" Miyako cried.

"Ssshhh, I'll be fine. I have the great Murasame Sumika with me right?" With a wink, the two left without another word.

They quietly maneuvered through the house, shutting and locking all windows, sealing and barricading doors and entrances with whatever furniture they could lift before they collapsed on the floor, panting.

"How bad?" Tomoe asked as she tried to catch her breath.

Sumika looked at her confused at first before realising what she meant, "Not too bad, the cut on my forehead has clotted up but the grazes on my elbows and forearms are starting to sting. You?"

"Same, my knees are killing me. What should we do? Stay here, go look for your dad or go to my house?"

"Stay. It's too dangerous out there. Have you heard those shootings?"

"Yeah, and they're coming closer too."

"Oh God... I totally forgot! Noe-san!" Sumika exclaimed in a hush tone, "She went out to get some groceries but..."

"Murasame-kun! In the short time I've known Noe-san, I am certain she is fine. Now is not the time to worry about our families. We need to go get some clothes and blankets for the others."

"Right, sorry. Come on, we can get those in my room." Sumika instructed as she led the way upstairs.

"Murasame-kun, I was wondering if I could borrow some of your clothes. Miyako would start to worry if she sees my wounds."

"Oh, sure." Sumika said as she draped all the blankets she could find over her shoulder. Going over to her desk to retrieve the first aid kit, she glanced outside to see shadows moving sluggishly in the street in front of her house.

Squinting her eyes, she gasped aloud before quickly blowing out her candle and staggering backwards.

"Ha-Ha-ha-hachi..." Sumika whispered.

Pointing towards her window with wide eyes, Tomoe soundlessly blew out her candle and approached the window cautiously. Her eyes widened as she saw the figures but remained calm for Sumika's sake.

"This had better be one of those sick, reality TV shows. Let's go downstairs. Fast!" With that, the two sprinted down the stairs to the dining room as quietly as possible before Sumika and Tomoe slapped a hand across Aoi and Miyako's widening mouths. Successfully halting any words from escaping.

"Put out those candles now, Kazama." Sumika whispered. Kazama did exactly as she was told and they all were surrounded by darkness once more.

"We're going to let you go now, Azusa-kun, Miyako. But you have to remain quiet understand?" Feeling them nod, Sumika and Tomoe released them.

"Tomoe-chan. What's going on?"

"There are... people outside...dangerous people. We don't want to catch their attention by making ANY sound or sign that we're in here. Also, I think the guys with guns are actually the good guys... " Tomoe tried to explain. _'The sounds of firing guns are even closer now... Hope they reach here soon.' _

The soft sound of movement told her that they were nodding. Satisfied, she moved over to sit next to Miyako.

"Sumi-chan, does it hurt?" Kazama whispered faintly. Her voice was full of concern and distress, Sumika noted.

"Most of the pain is gone already. You don't need to worry." Sumika assured her.

"You're lying."

Sumika sighed, she was definitely her best friend, "It's just a slight throb and sting every time I try to move. Really."

Now it was Kazama's turn to sigh silently as she carefully leaned against Sumika's shoulder, "Once we're out of this, I'll treat your wounds and you can't complain. Okay?"

"Sure." _'If we even get out of this mess... But those... those things. They look human, but they definitely were not human. I need to speak to Hachi in private as soon as possible.'_

More footsteps were heard outside. Loud and fast. Like the sound of hooves on gravel. Shortly after, the booming sound of gunfire started. Aoi and Miyako cried in surprise as their hands instinctively moved to cover their ears. Kazama had thrown herself onto Sumika's chest and the taller girl wrapped her injured arms around her best friend protectively.

Sumika closed her eyes as she tried to listen to what was happening outside. Tomoe was doing the exact same thing. Both of them thinking _'Hopefully the gunmen will take them all down.' _

Sumika was completely focused on the sounds outside. It was a skill she mastered while doing karate. The ability to concentrate on the details of her surroundings and right now, she was focused on all the sounds she was hearing outside. Besides the gunfire, there were groans, moans and the sound of shuffling feet being dragged across the tar road.

But then there were also the painful screams of men, clawing and gnawing sounds as if an animal were biting off chunks of flesh. Tortured cries of agony filled the air.

Slowly but steadily, the sound of guns were reducing. _'This is not good, they're losing. Maybe there weren't enough of them.' _A battle cry reached Sumika's heightened senses then the sound of running boots on gravel, more gunfire, several things fell with a dull thud before there was silence again.

"Sumi-chan?"

"Murasame-kun, now's not the time to be zoning out."

"Hey stupid giant. Wake up."

"Murasame-san..."

Several whispered voices reached her ears as she focused her attention to those around her. Opening her eyes, she was shocked to see her dining room in a mess. Pots were scattered all around her, her friends hunched over to stay low and avoid the stray bullets.

"Hachi... I think they won. We shou-" A faint sound brought her attention back outside. '_Someone ...or something's trying to enter through the front door!'_

Panicking, Sumika leaped to her feet, whispered a quick "I'll be right back" then bounded for the front door. Peering cautiously from one of the multiple bullet holes in the wall, she was pleased to see it was one of the humans who were trying to get inside.

Several others were behind him and they were obviously injured. She gathered her courage and spoke, "Excuse me, can you please stop that?"

The man stopped pushing against the door, startled. "Uh, my sincerest apologies ma'am. But as you can see, my men are severely injured and we really need some shelter right now. Could you please let us in?" His voice was commanding and husky yet polite. Sumika didn't know what to do.

"Who are you? How do we know we can trust you?" To Sumika's surprise, Kazama was the one who spoke up.

"Good gods, how old are you kids?" He seemed genuinely concerned. Turning to Tomoe, Sumika started to discuss with her as Kazama answered the man's questions politely.

In hushed whispers, Tomoe said, "We can't trust them! Not only do they have guns, they are all full grown men and we are all teenage girls!"

"Then what do you propose we do? Leave them out there to die? They took out a whole hoard of those... things!"

"We wait."

"What? They'll die!"

"I wasn't finished, we wait and question them first. And based on their answers then we'll decide whether we can trust them or not."

"...Fine. You take the lead." Nodding, Tomoe approached Kazama and beckoned for her to step back.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Kakashi. My men and I are part of Japan's military of defence. We have our badges and uniforms to prove it."

"Why did you choose this house? There are so many houses everywhere."

"Because my men are injured and it would be inconvenient to move around. The other houses nearby either have been damaged by the rubble and explosion or are on fire. Anything else?"

"What were those things?"

"That is highly classified information ma'am. However, I know that you will not let us in unless you get all the information you want, so I shall tell you this much. They were humans that have been used for illegal experimentation by a scientist who has already been arrested."

"So why do you need shelter? Why not call for backup or an airlift? Why here?"

"..."

"Why here?"

"...Because." The man was extremely hesitant, "Because all our units have been dispatched. No one is available to 'pick us up'. We take care of ourselves."

"ANd what were those things?"

Tomoe felt a light tap on her shoulder before Sumika whispered into her ear, "Hachi, I can hear groaning sounds outside. I don't think those things are all dead."

"Ma'am my men are in desperate need of medical attention!"

"I am aware." Peering through the bullet hole, Tomoe could vaguely make out some movement on the Murasame front porch where some of the soldiers laid. It was too dark to decide whether they were dead or just injured.

"I cannot share any more information with you. You are a civilian and I am not obliged to share any more classified government information with you. Now open this door at once!" He was getting impatient.

"And I am not obliged to follow your orders. Your job is to protect me however I will throw a first aid kit down to you. Since you are so insistent on treating your men's injuries."

Kakashi sighed, "That will not help with our situation at all ma'am."

"And why is that?"

"The mutated humans became like that because of a genetically modified virus that the scientist invented. He wanted to create a cure for Alzheimer's by using that virus to boost the brains power. However, it did the complete opposite by taking over the human's brain causing the human to die an agonising death. However, that mad man did not stop. He continued changing the virus, trying to figure out what was wrong and then trying it out on humans. All those humans died."

"...Died? What do you mean died? They're wal-umphh!" Miyako screamed before Sumika placed a hand over her mouth to shut her up.

"For God's sake, be patient and keep your voices down!"

"Why?" Tomoe resumed her questioning after casting Miyako a serious glance.

"The virus continued multiplying in the human's brain, spreading to all parts of the body but apparently, for some scientific shit reason I don't remember, the virus was able keep the human's brain alive as the rest of the body began to decay rapidly due to the virus using up the nutrients. The scientist was not aware of this until it was too late. He had kept all those bodies in his lab where no one would find them but slowly, one by one, they came back to life."

"Sir, I fail to understand how any of this is relevant to you seeking shelter here."

"Because, those 'zombies' as I would call them are being controlled by the virus. And what do viruses do? They search for a new host to invade."

Tomoe was confused, she wasn't that big a fan of science. In fact, all this talk about viruses was boring her to death, "What do you mean-"

"The virus can be transmitted to another human being. How? By droplets in the air? Orally? Contact? Blood? How?" Sumika said, getting louder as she reached the end of her sentence.

"Once they bite you, you're gone."

"So, anyone out there who gets bitten by those things become one of them?" Kazama whispered.

"That's horrible..." Aoi murmured.

"And that, ma'am, is why we need shelter. Some of my men have been bitten and although I have already put them out of their misery, there are others out there. Please."

"How do we know you're not bitten?" Tomoe asked.

"Because if I was I would be screaming in agony as I thrash around on the floor. My brain would be deteriorating as we were conversing earlier. Now please, let us in."

Turning around, Tomoe looked everyone in the eye as she whispered, "What do you think?"

"We let them in." Sumika said

"I agree with Murasame-san" Aoi whispered.

Kazama and Miyako both nodded.

"Fine we'll let you in Kakashi-san. Murasame-kun, help me with this."

"Thank you so much."

Sumika and Tomoe moved the furniture out of the way before opening the door. Kakashi was supporting a man who was hopping on his left leg. Two more men entered. Both were covered in ash and blood.

"That is all of us. Lock the door and barricade it again." Kakashi instructed. "Then, cover all the windows and bullet holes with something opaque. We will light some candles in here and we do not want those things seeing any source of light."

"Who do you think you are? Giving orders like that?" Miyako challenged, hands on hips.

"Miyako, just do as he says. He knows what he's doing." Tomoe said. All 5 girls moved around the house, looking for the slightest ray of moonlight and its source before covering it up. Once they were done, it was pitched black. Sumika being the only one who knows her houses' layout at the back of her hand, found the matches and lit a candle.

Once everyone was inside the candle lit dining room, Kazama and Aoi handed the soldiers the first aid kit and proceeded to help them with their wounds. They sat at one end of the room while Sumika and Tomoe stood nearby with Miyako sitting in the middle of the room.

"Those are scratches made by human nails." Tomoe commented. Most of the soldiers had removed their shirts and some folded up their pants so Sumika and Tomoe could clearly see their injuries. "How is it that if they were close enough to scratch you, they didn't bite you?"

"Honestly? We have no idea, man. We were fucking lucky." One of the soldiers explained as he dabbed antiseptic on the cuts on his arm, "Oh fucking hell! That burnsssss!"

"Quit being such a baby, Ray." Another soldier said, grinning.

"Ray is right though, we were lucky to not have been bitten." Kakashi said, "Since we are probably going to be staying a while, boys, introduce yourself."

"The names Bradley 'Blitz' Barrass, and I'm a real Ladies man! Although I don't usually date younger girls, I could always make an exception if you fine ladies are interested. Oh and please just call me Blitz." He introduced before flashing a grin and a wink and using his hand to push his messy blonde bangs to the back of his head.

"Oh please, waddaya shittin' about? Blitz here dun got no girl since he joined da bloody army! Funny thing is, he joined the army to get ripped an' get all 'em ladies! Hahaha- OWWWWWW!" Ray wailed as Blitz dripped some antiseptic on his wound. "You bloody sucker! Imma kill you man! I kill you! Ahh, Okay, okay! I won't kill ya man! I'm only kiddin' witcha!"

"Ray, Blitz. Is this how you behave in front of others? We represent this country and this is how you act?" Kakashi sighed. "Well, you already know my name is Kakashi, this is Ray and Blitz and finally, this is Shadow. Each of them are specialised in one particular field of weaponry and I am their Commanding Officer."

"Specialised?"

"Hell yeah, Four eyes! I'm the King of Bombs! Gimme anything and I'll make one helluva explosive for ya!"

"And I'm a long distance shooter. Give me a roof and a sniper rifle and I could kill a man from a mile away!"

"They are both exaggerating." Kakashi stated with slightly humorous tone.

"Am NOT!" Blitz and Ray said.

"Shadow, introduce yourself." The man who was limping earlier had jet black hair cropped short and dark brooding eyes. All this time he had been tending to his injuries with the help of Kazama.

Looking up, he met all 5 girls gazes with a bored expression, "My codename is Shadow. My accuracy is second to no one and should anyone approach me with the intent to kill, I will not hesitate to take him or her down. I am skilled with a sword, a handgun, rifles and even my own fists. Also, I find Ray and Blitz irritating and loud."

"Fuck man! Kakashi, he did it again!"

"He broke the rule Kakashi!"

"Rule?" Tomoe asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kakashi seemed like he was having a migraine. Blitz and Ray were whining on his left while Shadow looked content with himself as he continued to wrap his injuries up.

"Yes, rule. Shadow has a habit of downgrading these two whenever we have company and due to their continuous complaining, I made it a rule for Shadow to refrain from insulting them in front of others."

"But that little bitch never stopped! Wit the rule or not!" Ray grumbled.

"If you'll excuse us, I would like to have a word with Murasame-kun in private." Tomoe stated as she gently pushed Sumika out the door.

"See Shadow! Now the ladies can't even stand being in the same room as us!"

Finally out of earshot the two friends started their own private conversation.

"What is this about Hachi?"

"They're idiots. Nothing more than a bunch of idiots!"

"Sure they're a little lose in the head but what are we supposed to do?"

"...I know but they're just very... bizarre!"

"Haha, tell me about it. So what should we do right now? Get some food for them?"

"Yes and see what else they are willing to share with us about those... zombies."

Walking back to the dining room, Kazama and Aoi finally finished patching them all up.

"Thank you so much beautiful." Blitz said to Aoi who blushed profusely.

"It's nothing really..."

"You kiddin' me? I feel so fucking good now! No mo' dried blood and zombie guck. Thank you so fucking much, er.."

"Ushio. Kazama Ushio."

"A pretty name for a pretty little lady."

Sumika felt a flare of anger rise and she clenched her fists tightly. Causing the scratches on her palm to reopen.

Tomoe noticed this and whispered in her ear, "Don't make a scene. It's best they don't know about our sexuality."

Stunned, Sumika looked at Tomoe, anger briefly forgotten. Tomoe wasn't one to keep her sexuality a secret.

"We don't know how they would take it and we can't risk finding out so it's best to keep them out of it."

Sumika nodded and decided to remain quiet.

"Is there any chance we can contact our families?" Aoi asked.

"We do have a radio but it only receives radio transmissions. So unless your family members know how to work and are able to find a zombie-free radio station, I am sorry but we won't be able to contact them." Kakashi said, watching the girls with sad eyes.

"So would you gentlemen like something to eat?" Kazama asked, quickly bouncing back to her happy and worry-free state.

"We really don't want to- " Kakashi announced before being cut off by Ray and Blitz who howled with delight at the mention of food.

"YESHH Oh HELL YESH! I'm starved!"

"Me too. Me too!"

"Why am I stuck with these idiots?" Kakashi massaged the bridge of his nose trying to stop the headache from forming.

Kazama only smiled, they're antics reminded her of her own friends though they were all too shocked by recent events to behave like the usually do.

"I'll go see what I can prepare in the kitchen. Aoi-san, could you help me?"

"Oh ah, sure."

"Please do not cook anything. Erm, Kazama was it?", Kazama nodded, "Yeah well, cooking something will give off fumes which may attract those zombies so just be careful whatever you are preparing hasn't got a strong scent okay? Thanks."

"Understood." With that, Aoi and Kazama left to the kitchen leaving Miyako, Tomoe and Sumika with the soldiers.

There was a moment of awkward silence as the two groups of allies studied each other carefully.

"You never told us your names." Kakashi's voice boomed in the noiseless room.

"I'm Murasame Sumika."

"Tomoe and this is Miyako."

"It is a pleasure to meet you girls. And I am so sorry to have dragged you teens into this chaos." Kakashi apologised. Even Blitz and Ray looked solemn as Shadow continued to stare at the corner of the room.

"You didn't drag us into it. Everyone in this entire area has already been dragged into it." Tomoe explained as she and Sumika finally sat down. "So what else attracts those things?"

"So far, we know they rely on their eyes and ears. We are told they have a horrible sense of smell and their taste buds are practically useless. Though I would rather not take the risk." Kakashi described.

"They also crave for raw human flesh and blood. Which is what causes them to attack humans in the first place." Blitz added.

"Though they victims die 'cuz of that bitch virus and loss of blood... they still come fucking come alive whether their flesh has been gorged out or not."

"That's... disturbing." Sumika whispered.

"How do we kill them?" To everyone's surprise, Miyako was the one who asked. Tomoe looked at her lovers face. A mixture of pure fear and anxiousness. Tomoe sighed and moved over to put an arm around Miyako. Who immediately curled into her hold.

"You blow their brains to bits."

"You can use whatever weapon you want."

"Ya juz gotta make sure you shred that fucking sucker's head into bloody fragments!"

"That's a little..."

"Horrifying?"

"Gruesome?"

"Impossible." Shadow stated from his corner of the room, "Do you think you could actually beat those things? We lost 6 men just now. 6 trained men. Don't ask unnecessary questions, little girl."

"Shadow, you don't need to be so harsh. They're barely out of high school, they haven't seen the world yet so leave them be." Blitz defended.

"I am not a little girl." Miyako murmured.

"What's that you little brat?" Shadow said, rising from his position on the floor.

"Miyako, please don't." Tomoe insisted. Blitz, Kakashi and Ray were all watching Shadow carefully as he limped over to where Miyako sat in Tomoe's arms.

"No Tomoe-chan! Who does this guy think he is? I'm not a little girl! I've seen the ugly side of this world! You don't know me so don't you dare speak as if you do!"

Shadow laughed menacingly. His throaty chuckles filled the room and Sumika tensed from where she sat beside her friends.

"Let me ask you something. All those times you've 'seen the ugly side of this world' what happened? Did your beloved Tomoe-chan come to your rescue? Your relatives? Parents? Friends?"

"Of course! All my friends and family lov-" Shadow laughed out loud again, "What are you laughing about?"

"Then you haven't seen shit little brat. You've never been in a situation where you were alone, surrounded by dead comrades whom you trusted to protect you. You've never been forced into a situation so horrifying suicide was like a vacation when compared to it. You've neve-"

"Enough!" Miyako yelled. Tears pooling at her eyes. "No, I have never faced death nor have I seen the death of my friends. However, I have experienced things your puny little brain would never understand. You think you're so smart,"

"Taema, that's enough." Kakashi said but the girl ignored him and continued.

"Treating all your allies with hostility and boasting about your expertise to us but guess what? You're the one who was injured the most! Your wounds are far more severe than the others!"

Blitz and Ray's eyes were wide. Shadow was seething with anger. All the members in the room could feel the tension.

"Shadow..." Kakashi's tone was cautious and demanding. Sumika saw him tense and she too followed suit. Her palms laid flat on the ground, all the muscles in her arms and legs were tense, ready to push herself of the ground at any second to defend Miyako. Knowing full well that Tomoe would take the hit for Miyako. Shadow started laughing again.

"You're absolutely right. I am the one who's most injured here... But that's going to change - right now!"

"Shadow!" Blitz and Ray screamed, scurrying onto their feet to stop their comrade but they were too slow. Shadow lunged forward, hands clenched into fists. Ready to beat the hell out of Miyako for wounding his pride so severely.

Everything slowed down. Tomoe twisted Miyako in her grip. Turning her back to his approaching fist. Blitz, Kakashi and Ray had their arms outstretched, trying to pull Shadow backwards. Sumika on the other hand, was more than ready for him to strike.

Releasing all the tension in her arms, she pushed herself up and towards Shadow. Once her weight was off her arms, she shifted her weight once more to her left leg and brought her right leg up in a curved high kick to Shadow's stomach, effectively pushing him back.

Shadow staggered backwards before forcing himself forward once more, out of the grasping hands of his comrades. Sumika moved in front of Tomoe and Miyako in a defensive stance.

Watching his movements vigilantly, she expected a kick and lowered herself instinctively. What she didn't anticipate, was his backwards kick using his other leg. Her hands moved to block the kick aimed at her chest, grabbed his foot but her whole body was forced backwards as her back slammed painfully into the wall behind her.

Pain rushed through her like nothing she had ever experienced.

Crying out in shock and agony, her first thought was to look down at Tomoe and Miyako. Worried she had accidentally crashed into them, she was relieved to see that they were unharmed, Tomoe still protectively covering Miyako on the floor.

Regaining her footing in a split second, Sumika crossed her arms around his foot to hold it in place. Preventing him from any further movement due to the awkward position he was in. The pain was excruciating but as long as she maintained her focus she would be okay.

The tug of war between him and Sumika was cut short when Blitz and Ray grabbed Shadow, forcing him to stop moving. Gingerly, Sumika released her death grip on his foot and he slowly lowered it to the floor.

No one said anything. Not even Kakashi who looked both furious and panicky. Sumika breathed slowly.

"Erm... Is everything okay?"

Everyone turned to the doorway where Aoi and Kazama stood awkwardly . Both holding trays of canned food, snacks, some leftover dinner and bottles of water. Still, no one said anything until Sumika started coughing.

Slowly at first before she fell to her knees and doubled over in pain. Her arms encircled her chest as if she were trying to keep her lungs from leaping from her chest as she coughed violently.

Kazama dropped everything she was holding and ran straight to Sumika who had begun spitting out blood but her fit was slowly going away, replaced by a regular tremour. Kazama knelt in front of Sumika and started rubbing her back soothingly; asking what was wrong.

"What... Did... you... do.. to me?" Sumika wheezed, glaring daggers at Shadow who only looked away. Kazama had never seen Sumika this angry. "Answer me! You...ughh.." Sumika clenched her teeth, the pain although receding was still agonising.

"Kazama, I think you better take all your friends upstairs. It has been a long night. You can leave the food at the doorway. Take whatever you want and leave us be." Kakashi ordered. Beckoning his men to give them some space.

Kakashi and Kazama helped Sumika to her feet. The karate prodige didn't even try to support herself as wave after wave of pain crashed through her. Miyako and Tomoe followed closely behind.

When Sumika was at the doorway she said quietly, "You're name... what is.. your real name?"

"Shun 'Shadow' ...Souken."

_'Souken... I knew it. Souken meaning 'my Soul is in my bow' I knew the feeling of an arrow going through me wasn't just my imagination.' _Sumika thought.

"Are you afraid? Murasame Sumika?" Releasing the hold Kakashi and Kazama had on her, Sumika turned around to face Shadow's smirking face.

"I am." Shadow sneered while Kazama and Aoi gasped in surprise, "But should you ever threaten to harm my friends again, I will wipe that smirk off your face."

Shadow lost the grin. _'Geez, when was the last time I saw that look in someone's eye. You really are an interesting one, Murasame Sumika' _Shadow thought.

Turning while grimacing, Sumika sluggishly made her way towards the stairs. Once they all made it into Sumika's room, Sumika limped over to her futon and crumpled onto the cushions.

The others went to blacken out the windows so those creatures don't see the candlelight. Sumika was softly whimpering to herself in her curled up position. Her chest was burning, her head was beginning to hurt and her arms still needed to be treated.

"Hey four eyes..." Miyako called. Sumika just opened one hazy eye and looked at her in the dim candlelight. "Thanks... you saved me and Tomoe-chan from that freak. Thank you." she looked away, blushing.

Sumika smiled slightly, "Don't.. worry about.. it. Anyway, you guys... can sleep... in my brother's... or dad's.. room if you want. I doubt... we'll all... fit in here..."

"Geez, if you wanted to share a bed with big tities here, all you had to do was ask! No need to be so polite about it." Miyako teased, though she didn't expect Sumika to merely smile at her before closing her one open eye.

"Ah, Sumi-chan! You need to get your wounds tended to! Tomoe-chan too! ...Sumi-chan? Sumi-chan!" Gently shaking Sumika's shoulder.

"Mmm?"

"Kazama-kun. Why don't you treat her injuries as she sleeps? The 3 of us will sleep in another room where Miyako will take care of my injuries. How's that sound?"

"Oh, okay."

Tomoe and Miyako opened the first aid kit, took some bandages and medication before the 2 of them moved to another room. Aoi stood by the doorway as Kazama cautiously removed Sumika's glasses.

"Um... will Murasame-san be alright?" Aoi asked.

"Sumi-chan's really tough so she'll be okay. Just needs some rest."

"Oh, okay then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

They exchanged gentle smiles before Aoi closed and locked the door behind her, giving the 2 best friends some privacy. Kazama looked back at Sumika who was breathing raggedly, her face frequently twitching from the pain.

"Sumi-chan, I'm going to remove your clothes now okay?"

Receiving no answer she moved to sit on Sumika's lower abdomen, encircled her arms around Sumika's prone body and gently lifted her, with some effort, before allowing Sumika to lean on her own body.

Pushing the jacket Sumika was wearing off her shoulders, Kazama clumsily flung it to side and moved to pull Sumika's T-shirt off. Once that was off, Kazama finally realised their positions and her face turned beet red.

Shaking her head roughly to chase away her wild imaginations, she cautiously laid Sumika back onto the futon. Kazama's face turned several shades redder as she took in Sumika's torso clad only in a simple white bra.

Her embarrassment vanished the moment her eyes rested on the ugly purplish green bruise on Sumika's chest, spreading from below her collarbones to her breasts and disappearing under her undergarment.

Her eyes moved to scan the rest of Sumika's torso, from her toned stomach to her shoulders and finally arms. Sumika's arms were covered with dried blood. Lifting her arms for closer inspection, Kazama could make out several gashes on her forearms where she landed on, trying to protect Kazama from the explosion.

_'You big dummy, why'd you do something like that?'_

"Because she loves you." a voice said inside her head. Blatantly ignoring the voice, Kazama rose to get a washcloth and basin. When she returned, Sumika was awake and was unsuccessfully trying to get up.

Kazama rushed over and placed her hands on Sumika's exposed shoulders, tenderly pushing her back down. Upon realising who it was, Sumika allowed herself to lay back down.

"You shouldn't get up Sumi-chan. You're badly hurt. Just go back to sleep okay?" Kazama blushed, glad the dim candlelight was the only source of light in the room.

"Where are... the others?" Sumika asked, her eyes closed. Kazama now knelt by her side and was delicately cleaning the blood off Sumika's larger hands.

"They're sleeping in your dad's room I believe."

"Oh. I see." Opening her eyes a tiny fraction, she watched Kazama as she continued to wash the blood off with some difficulty. "Kazama, that blood has been there for the past few hours already. I should just go take a bath. Soak my arms in water and the blood will come off by itself."

Kazama looked troubled, she was indeed having trouble removing the blood but won't it be very inconvenient for Sumika to move about?

"It isn't inconvenient. I just need some help getting up... Could you push that chair over here?"

Kazama immediately pouted, "What? You don't think I have the strength to lift you?"

"It's not that, I- it's... I'm much taller and heavier than you Kazama, it won't be wise to..." she sighed, "Very well, Kazama, could you help me up?"

Kazama's face lit up again. Moving on top of Sumika again, with her legs on both sides of Sumika, she once again lifted Sumika's torso up. Unbeknownst to Kazama, Sumika only then became aware of her lack of clothes and add on the intimate position they were in, her face was glowing red. If it weren't for the pounding pain in her chest, she would've fainted right there and then.

Kazama fastened her arms around Sumika's torso and asked, "Ready?" Sumika nodded, raising her knees to help push herself off the ground. "On the count of three Sumi-chan, One, two, three!"

The two of them pushed off the ground however, Sumika was right. She was too heavy for Kazama and the two toppled back onto the futon. Sumika gasped in agony as she landed with both her weight and Kazama's weight on her back.

Clenching her teeth so as to not cry our in pain and screwing her eyes shut, she tried her best to overcome the fresh waves of pain.

"Haha, my bad Sumi-chan, looks like you were... Sumi-chan? Are you okay?"

Finally noticing her pained expression, Kazama's mind raced _'Oh God, what have I done? Sumika was kicked into the wall! If her chest is that badly bruised, her back must be too. What was I thinking?'_

"Sumi-chan, I'm so sorry. I totally forgot your back injury. I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay. The shock of both our weights on my back hurt but the pains all gone now..." Sumika opened her eyes to see Kazama sobbing on top of her. "Kazama, it's not your fault. Even I forgot about my back. So don't cry okay? Please? Please don't cry, Kazama. I hate it when you cry."

"Why Sumi-chan? How can you not be mad?"

"Mad? Why on earth would I be mad at you for trying to help me?"

"Because *hick* you're only injured because you *hick* were trying to protect *hick* me and Tomoe-chan and Miyako-chan. And *hick* now I go ahead and do something so reckless *hick* and inconsiderate." To Kazama's surprise, Sumika smiled through sleepy half-lidded eyes and raised her clean right hand to wipe away Kazama's tears.

"Kazama, do you ever wonder why I'm so tall, strong and skilled at Karate?" Kazama shook her head. "I have. And at first, I thought God had made a mistake or was trying to punish me." Kazama was confused with the last part of Sumika's sentence.

"Punish? Why would you *hick* say that?"

Realising her mistake, Sumika tried to come up with an explanation, "Ah, it's nothing. But anyway, recently I've realised why I was born to become who I am today. It's so that I can protect those precious to me, Kazama. So I don't regret anything that I have done for Hachi, Miyako or you. In fact, I'm glad I was able to protect you 'cuz I know I would blame myself if any of you got hurt while I was nearby."

Kazama's tears welled up again but this time not from sorrow or guilt, more from the feeling of joy after hearing Sumika's cheesy yet touching words. Kazama started weeping once again, burying her head onto Sumika's chest, careful not to put any pressure on the bruise.

Sumika was in heaven. _'Oh how I've dreamt of this... the feeling of Kazama's face and hands on my chest, her hair tickling my shoulders... oh my god, is this really the right time to be thinking about such things? More importantly, I need to get this blood off before going straight to sleep. I'm sure Kazama must be exhausted.'_

While deep in thought, Sumika's hand had moved up to caress Kazama's hair soothingly. "Kazama?"

Raising her head and wiping away her tears, "Yeah?"

"How about that chair eh?" Sumika smiled.

"Oh right. I'm so sorry, I'm so forgetful right now." Returning the smile, Kazama moved the chair over to Sumika's side.

Using it as support along with Kazama's help, Sumika finally got to her feet. Still slightly unbalanced, she nearly toppled over but Kazama quickly steadied her.

Blushing at the close contact, Sumika couldn't help but notice how cold Kazama's hands were where they rested supportively on her stomach and back.

Once they reached the shower, Sumika leaned against the wall while Kazama dashed back to bring the wooden chair from earlier for Sumika to sit on.

Once they were both settled, Sumika on the chair with Kazama on the stool and a large bucket of cold water between them since there wasn't any electricity to heat the water first, Sumika bent over slightly and placed both arms into the water. The cold water was refreshing and her wounds had previously been burning up.

"Ahhh, that feels good." Sumika sighed. Kazama merely smiled and set to work to rub the blood off Sumika's submerged arms. With nothing better to do, Sumika watched Kazama work.

_'She's still in her school uniform. Guess I'll lend her some of my clothes to sleep in later. Wonder if she can fit... Did she just, shiver? Is she cold? But she's fully clad in clothes... then again, with no electricity my house hasn't got any electrical heating so it must be freezing. And now her sleeves and clothes are damp with cold water. What should I do?'_

"Kazama?"

"Hhmm? Does it hurt?"

"Wha- no. Not at all, I was just wondering, are you cold?"

"Ah, all done!" Kazama flashed Sumika her infamous smile and Sumika's heart melted in her chest, a light blush rested on her cheeks.

Removing her arms from the now red water, Kazama used a hand towel to delicately pat her dry. Revealing several bright red lines around her elbows and moving up her forearm to her palm where there were smaller cuts as well. Proof of how brutal the tar road is.

"Sumi-chan?" Kazama now stood directly in front of Sumika, her hand holding the damp white washcloth that was now pink in colour. "I need you to close your eye and try not to move too much okay?"

"Huh?"

Kazama used her left hand to push Sumika's bangs to the top of her head and used the washcloth to wipe the caked blood off the right side of Sumika's face.

Sumika closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain when the cloth made contact with her wound by focusing on Kazama's cold hands on her face.

_'I should enjoy myself now, being as exhausted and sore as I am now, I haven't even got the strength to be thoroughly embarrassed by the close contact. Who knows when an opportunity like this will come arou-' _

Both girls were interrupted from their thoughts as a few groans were heard from outside. Kazama unconsciously moved closer to Sumika while Sumika brought her attention outside.

_'One pair, no two pairs of feet... Two zombies outside. Moving along the street... Headed for... Kazama's apartment. Phew... safe.' _Sumika sighed.

Opening one eye to look at Kazama's face in the dim light, Sumika's breath hitched in her throat. The warm glow made Kazama's hair turn a gorgeous bronze colour and her extraordinary chestnut brown eyes had a golden tint to in.

_'Kazama... if only I could tell you openly how beautiful you are.' _Sumika looked away just before their eyes could meet.

"Don't worry, They're moving away from us, Kazama."

"...Right" Kazama continued mopping her face until all the blood was gone.

"There, I can finally see your whole face now!" Kazama smiled, proud of her work. Sumika smiled back. The two then proceeded to move into the bedroom again where Sumika sat back down onto her futon.

Kazama however, went back to the bathroom to clean herself up. She came back wearing only her white dress shirt and skirt, damp sleeves rolled up her arms.

"Kazama, do you want to borrow one of my shirts?"

"Ah, no it's okay." Kazama started applying some medication on Sumika's arms.

Wincing, Sumika persisted, "Kazama, your hands are freezing."

"What about you? Why're you so warm?" Kazama challenged, now beginning to wrap her arms up in bandages.

"That's... I'll tell you later."

Kazama looked at her curiously, almost accusingly but decided to let it slide as she moved closer to tend to her forehead injury. Grimacing slightly, Kazama quickly finished up and placed a band-aid over it. Her eyes then wandered to the bruise on her chest.

"Sumi-chan, I need you to lie back down so I can apply some ointment on that bruise."

"Actually, could you put some on my back first?"

"Oh, right! I forgot."

'G_AHHH, why am I so distracted! I've seen Sumi-chan naked so many times before! This shouldn't be too different!' _Kazama yelled in frustration to herself.

Slowly, Kazama massaged the ointment onto the large bruise on Sumika's back. Sumika didn't expect it to feel so soothing and thought, _'Perks of having a dojo as part of your house, we get the best medicines for any injury, especially the usual cuts and bruises. Aaahhh...'_

Kazama hit one particular sore part and Sumika accidentally moaned. The sound brought shivers rolling down Kazama's back. Shivers she knew wasn't caused by the severe cold. However, both girls kept their thoughts to themselves.

* * *

Downstairs

"You nearly killed an innocent civilian! AN INNOCENT TEENAGE GIRL!" Blitz spoke loudly, but still soft enough so that the girls upstairs wouldn't hear them. He was furious, at Shadow and himself for being unable to stop his friend.

"She crossed the line." Shadow defended.

"No, YOU crossed the line!"

"You fucking bitch Souken only wanted to scare 'em right? But Sumika kicked you away wit a speed that was at yo fucking level, ya couldn't take it could ya?"

"She asked for it."

"Don't you get it you stubborn, selfish, stuck-up asshole of a Souken? You. Nearly. KILLED. Murasame. Sumika. An INNOCENT civilian!"

"We the army fucker! We die everyday tryin to protect them people! And what didja do? Ya go ahead and try to kill 'em! Fuck!"

"Enough. Shun Souken. If you ever try something like that again, we will not hesitate to put a bullet through your head. Understand?" Kakashi growled.

"Yes, sir." Shadow grumbled.

* * *

Upstairs in Sumika's room

Half an hour later, Sumika was all wrapped up like a mummy. While Kazama had gone to clean up the mess, Sumika pushed herself off the ground with the help of her desk and walked over to her closet before removing her undergarment and putting on a large long-sleeved sweater. Changing into a comfortable pair of shorts, Sumika also pulled out one of her pyjamas that she'll lend Kazama.

_'This should be warm enough for her.' _

Hearing Kazama walk out of the toilet, Sumika said, "Here Kazama, put this on."

Kazama gladly took the garments and went into the toilet once again to change. Sumika then laid out the spare futon she had next to her own and grabbed some spare blankets for Kazama and herself.

_'This fever should keep me warm all night long. Or at least until the sun rises.' _Settling onto her own futon, Sumika waited for Kazama to finish. Leaving her clothes hanging on the towel rack, Kazama entered the room and was slightly disappointed to see two futons instead of one.

Chasing away those thoughts, Kazama blew out the candle and tucked herself in."Goodnight Sumi-chan."

"Goodnight Kazama."

Kazama could vaguely make out Sumika's face in the dark. She had left the candle lighted in the toilet. _'She looks so exhausted. Poor Sumi-chan.'_

* * *

An hour later.

Kazama laid wide-awake on her futon as she heard, or imagined, the sound of shuffling feet and inhumane groans echo through the frozen night. A dog howled in the distance. A sorrowful howl. Glancing at the alarm clock, it read 2:58am.

Silence reigned. For a brief moment, everything was quiet, before a woman's ear-piercing scream sliced through the still night sky. Kazama's whole body shook then tensed up from both the cold and feeling of complete unease and fear.

She couldn't take it anymore. counting to 3, she shoved her blankets to the side and scurried over to Sumika's side where she started shaking the dozing girl's shoulder.

"Sumi-chan" Kazama whispered. "Sumi-chan, please wake up. ...I'm scared Sumi-chan."

"Mmmmmm." Sumika's eyes lazily fluttered open. She rested on her right shoulder since both her back and front was sore. Looking up, she saw her best friend and secret crush's teary face looking down at her. Fear and worry cleared the sleeping fog dwelling there as she tried to rise while asking, "What's wrong?"

Kazama pushed Sumika onto the futon and opened her mouth to explain her worries but another blood-curdling scream filled the air. This time, a man's. Kazama's body clenched up and she sat straight up. Eyes wide with fear.

"Kazama, Kazama, look at me. I need you to stop thinking. Look at me. Kazama, put those morbid thoughts away." Kazama looked like she was going to cry. Sumika winced as she scooted over in her futon, trying to make some space for Kazama. "If you want, you could sleep with me tonight? But only if you want to!"

Kazama immediately dove under Sumika's raised covers and buried her face in her hands on Sumika's chest. Sumika placed the covers over Kazama's body, making sure she was warm.

"Sumi-chan? How can you be so warm when it's so cold right now?" Kazama wondered. She could feel her fear and panic from earlier slowly dissipating as she laid cuddled up to her protective best friend.

"Truthfully? I'm having a fever right now." Kazama turned to look into Sumika's eyes. Worry written all over her angelic face. "Don't worry, it's really mild and it'll be gone by morning."

"Why... How..."

Sumika chuckled at Kazama's confused expression, "It's one of the side-effects of taking Shadow's kick full on."

"Huh?"

Sumika laughed heartily again. Her feverish arms draped over Kazama's frosty body, "The Souken family's martial arts style is practically a legend to us Karate practitioners. There are very few members of the Souken family who are capable of using the technique but those who can are formidable fighters. Or so I've heard. When I was a kid, I tried my best to read as much about Karate as I could. One day, I came over an ancient entry about the Souken family technique."

"Technique? What sort of technique Sumi-chan? I didn't see anything particularly unique about the way he was fighting." Kazama whispered, head still turned up to look at Sumika.

"First, close your eyes and try to sleep. It's late and we're both worn-out." Kazama did just that and Sumika unconsciously placed her chin on Kazama's head. Both enjoying each other's company.

"The name Souken means essence and soul but it could also mean 'my Soul is in my bow'. It was believed that the Souken's were able to partially solidify their internal energy. Their soul's energy or chakras. They are then able to transfer this energy to any part of their body and use it to enhance their attack power to a near fatal level. However, the energy doesn't take a physical form and is invincible to the human eye. It isn't seen. It's felt."

"Wait, Sumi-chan, I'm confused."

"Let me use Shadow and myself as an example. His kick was indeed very normal however he was concentrating his energy on his leg. When his foot made contact with my arms, he sent the energy into my body."

"Is that why it hurt so much?"

"Not exactly, you see he made his energy to be shaped like an arrow so that when it went through me, it felt as if he had stabbed me through with a real arrow. My body feels the pain and automatically accepts the fact that 'I had been stabbed' and so it responds instinctively.

"Those unaware of such an attack would immediately believe their body, convincing their brains that the Souken warrior's attacks are on a whole different level. If they succumb to their body's predictions, they will die. If not, then they would still be vulnerable to their opponent. Either way, they would be defeated."

"But you were aware right?"

"Yeah. The moment I felt the arrow charge through me, I recognized the attack immediately. Though it took a lot of concentration to beat the pain with rational thought."

"Sumi-chan, you really are amazing."

"No. I'm just lucky I knew about the Souken's martial arts style. Now go to sleep Kazama."

"Mmhm." Cuddling even closer, Kazama tangled her feet with Sumika's, seeking her warmth. Sumika was blushing abundantly as she tightened her arms arounc her secret love.

Soon after, the two fell asleep. All their fears, worries and pains dissolved into the chilly night air as they slept in each other's arms for the first time in a long time.

* * *

A/N: There you go. I hope you enjoyed it? I wrote this while having my exams so yeah.. go easy on me. I hope it isn't too draggy.. but I think that's just the way I write :/ I tried cutting it down several times already. Anyway, please Review, I would really appreciate it!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey, I'm back! Since I'm going to be gone for the next few months due to a top secret ninja assassin job, I thought I'd upload this before I go. Hope you'll enjoy the story :D

* * *

Tomoe woke up to the sound of heavy pounding on the door. "Wake up you sleepy heads. It's 11 am already!"

The pounding continued even as Tomoe mumbled for them to go away.

"Okay... We're up. Now go away!" Tomoe called, effectively chasing the person away. The previous nights events came back to her as she took in the unfamiliar bedroom. Tomoe then tried to get up but both her arms were being held in place by... Aoi and Miyako who were sleeping on either sides of her. "Yo, rise and shine girls. Time to get up."

Miyako stirred and mumbled," Five mo' minutes, Tomoe-chan"

Aoi drowsily opened her eyes before she realised their positions and leaped out of bed. Apologising profusely with her head bowed. "Don't worry about it Azusa-kun. It was cold, we had no choice."

Another knock was heard. This time less violent. "Hachi? You guys awake?" Sumika peeked through a small opening in the doorway, "Oh, Aoi-san. Good morning."

"Good morning, Murasame-san." Aoi opened the door wider for Sumika to enter. She wore a pair of dark jeans and a white T-shirt, just like any other day without zombies strolling the roads of their town.

"How're you walking around?"

The taller girl grinned sheepishly while scratching the back of her head, "Not sure myself. But this morning, I felt a lot better."

"Right, where's Kazama-kun?" Tomoe asked from her position on the bed.

"She's trying to find something to wear. Most of my shirts are too big for her... Anyway, I thought you guys would want a change of clothes?" Sumika explained as she sat on the bed.

_'The room smells just like Dad... Dad, Noe-san, the idiot triplets... I hope they're okay. Argh, no, I can't be miserable right now. Everyone must be worried about their own families. I can't be selfish.'_

"Ah, that would be nice. Azusa-kun can go with you first. It'll take some time to wake this one up." Sumika nodded then rose. Walking over to the door with Aoi following closely behind.

"Are you alright, Miyako?" Tomoe asked as she crawled back into bed and hugged the girl close.

"What're you talking about?" Miyako mumbled, her eyes remained close as she snuggled into the embrace.

"You were crying in your sleep last night, Miyako."

At that, the smaller girl's eyes snapped open and immediately looked away.

Tomoe lifted a hand to her chin so she could look into her lover's eyes, "What did you dream of?"

"What do you think? After last night, how could I sleep soundly?"

"You're safe, Miyako. I'm here to protect you, as are our friends and the soldiers downstairs."

"It's not that... I was... I'm just worried about my dad."

"Ahh, I see. There's nothing you have to worry about there either. My family will take good care of him along with all the other servants and chaffeurs." Tomoe assured, "In fact, I don't think the zombies would've been able to make it past the fences and security forces. You know as well as I do what happens when someone tries to break into the Hachisuka household."

Miyako smiled, finally relaxing and returning the embrace.

"Also, after those explosions, my grandfather would've made it his top priority to get everyone in the mansion out of the city. They're probably in Tokyo sipping tea now. Right, Miyako?"

"You always know what to say, Tomoe-chan."

"I'm just saying what is in my heart."

"And what is it saying now?"

"It's saying that... I love you and I won't ever let you go." Tomoe grinned, bending down to capture her lovers lips in a passionate kiss.

* * *

In the other room.

"Kazama, can I come in?"

"Oh sure!" came the muffled reply. "Well, what do you think Sumi-chan? Oh Good morning Aoi-chan!" Kazama stood in the middle of the room wearing one of Sumika's black three-quarter pants that reached her ankles and a pale blue long sleeved shirt.

Sumika face-palmed, "Kazama, those sleeves are far too long! Are the pants too lose? Do you need a belt?" Sumika went to help fold Kazama's sleeves up while Aoi watched the pair's exchange with a small smile.

"Ah, Aoi-san. Go ahead and check out that pile over there. Those are the clothes that I can't fit into anymore so maybe you'll be able to find a suitable one there. Kazama, stop moving!"

"But it's more fun to be able to swing them around like this!" Ushio giggled, flipping the drooping ends of her sleeves in circular motions.

"Kazama!"

"Haha, just kidding, Sumi-chan!"

"Erm, Murasame-san? I think I'll borrow this. Is that alright?" Holding up a pair of jeans.

"Oh sure. Take whatever you want. As long as you can fit into them. What about a shirt?"

"Oh, I couldn't find anything so I'll stick with my uniform."

"Good morning everyone." Tomoe announced as she and Miyako marched through the doorway. "Got anything we could wear?"

"'Morning!" Aoi and Kazama said with bright smiles because for a moment there, everything felt normal. Had it not been for the bandages around Sumika and Tomoe and the slight tint of fear in their eyes, they could simply convince their minds that last night was just a dream and pretend there weren't armed soldiers downstairs. But pretending would only last that long.

"Hachi, I'm sure you can fit into most of my clothes so just take whatever you like. Though Miyako, I couldn't find many options for you..."

"It's okay. Anything's fine. I wasn't expecting much anyways."

Once they were all dressed, they made their way downstairs. In the dining room, food had already been laid out across the table. The four soldiers dashed back and forth the kitchen and dining room.

"Ah, Good morning ladies. You're all looking clean and refreshed! A good night's rest can go a long way!" Blitz grinned, holding a stack of plates, which he began laying out.

"Yo, pretty ladies! Hope ya'll dun mind us ransacking yo' kitchen!" Ray greeted, carrying a large bowl of rice.

"Good morning. I hope you've all rested well last night?" Kakashi exited the kitchen, drying his hands on a hand towel. The girls nodded. "That's good. Well, what are you all standing around for? Take a seat! Dig in!"

Once everyone was seated and chatting happily while eating, Shadow entered the room. All eyes were trained on him. Sumika watched him intently, her chest throbbed in memory of last night. Ray scooted over so that Shadow was seated directly in front of Kazama.

He kept his head down and his next words took all the girls by surprise, "Murasame-san, Tomoe-san, Miyako-san, I apologise for my behaviour last night. I promise something like that will never happen again."

Tomoe nudged Miyako in the ribs, "I... I would like to apologise as well. I said some things.."

"No. You spoke nothing but the truth. I made a calculation error while fighting and ended up being severely injured."

"Well, good to know all has been cleared." Kakashi smiled. Though he failed to notice the anger that flared in Sumika's eyes. Everyone ate happily. Blitz resumed his horrible flirting with Aoi and Miyako while Tomoe did her best not to join him.

Ray was complaining to Kazama about the food while Kakashi defended his cooking skills. Only Sumika and Shadow ate silently. Sparing each other a subtle glance every now and then. After breakfast, everyone helped to clear up except Sumika who dragged Shadow to the side, out of earshot.

Grabbing him by the collar and pushing him against the wall, she said in a low growl, "How do I know you won't try that again? You have a horrible temper. Why should I allow you to remain in this house?"

"Because, Miss Naive, my enemy isn't you. My enemy isn't any of you. My enemies are those wandering corpses outside. My enemy is the man who made them. I was in a bad mood last night, I agree. Unlike my comrades, I can't push the images of my falling comrades away so quickly." Shadow snarled in reply.

Sumika glared straight into his onyx eyes as he scowled back into her grey ones. Each tempting the other to back down. Finally, Sumika dropped her hold on his shirt. Giving him one last glower, she turned to move away when he spoke again, "I admire your strength Murasame." Stunned, she turned back to see if he was mocking her. He wasn't.

"I knew about your family since I was a little girl. It wasn't that hard to figure your technique out."

"I don't mean that. Sure, I am amazed at how well you took my attack. Heck, my friends thought you would be dead by morning and yet here you are. Perfectly healthy and fit. No, what I admire about you is your strength and determination to protect your friends." Shadow walked towards her and stopped beside her. Casting a sideways glance, "In some ways, I'm envious of you. You're willing and more than capable of defending your loved ones."

Sumika didn't know what to say. She was so childish to possibly think he would try and harm them again. He was an ally. Not an opponent. "Shadow, you face foes far more dangerous than the ones I do. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I see the way you look at her." Shadow smirked cheekily at Sumika who blushed and panicked at the same time. "Don't worry, I had brothers who were gay too. I've seen many couples in my life but very rarely have I seen such a strong bond between two people. Does she know?"

Sumika sighed and shook her head.

"So you choose friendship over taking the risk of telling her?" Sumika nodded. "Murasame, I have one piece of advice for you: Don't wait until it's too late. Or you'll regret for all eternity." Patting her shoulder lightly, Shadow entered the dining room once more. Sumika followed soon after.

Everyone looked at the new comers with worried glances but the peaceful expressions on both Sumika and Shadow's faces put their minds at rest.

"As I was saying, my men and I will have to be moving on soon. As soldiers, we have to continue fighting." He took out a map from his uniform and laid in on the table in front of everyone. It was a map of their town.

"This is where we are." he pointed to the south of the map. "This was the lab where the scientist stayed." pointing to the northeast. "Meaning the centre and northern regions will have the most of the zombies as our Intel tells us."

"Don't you think your Intel would be slightly out-dated?" Tomoe asked.

"Yeah, they must've spread across the entire area already." Kazama continued.

"We have a radio girls, while you were sleeping this morning, we contacted our base and received new info and orders."

"New orders?" Sumika questioned.

"We will get to that later. First, I have to tell you what we found out this morning. This entire area has been put in quarantine. Last night, the military has surrounded this entire city. If you look outside, later. You should be able to make out the fence they have placed around the area.

"Behind this fence, they are planning on building a solid concrete wall. Construction has already begun. All civilians are to be evacuated immediately. Now our orders. Hearing that we were seeking refuge at a civilians house, we have been ordered to escort you 5 to the walls where you will be safe."

The girls were quiet. Each were thinking of their family members. Wondering whether they had already made it past the walls.

"Which is why I need you girls to use this day to prepare yourself. Bring only a few things: a change of clothes, whatever is precious to you and any medical supplies you have. We will take care of the food. We leave at 5 am tomorrow morning. So rest up and prepare yourself for the worst to come. It is going to be ugly out there."

"Sir? Shouldn't we teach them how to defend themselves?" Shadow proposed.

"Shadow's right Kakashi. It's four of us to five of them. We won't be able to protect them at all times." Blitz added.

"We may even find 'em civilians while travelling! It's juz four o'us."

Kakashi thought for a moment before, "Very well. Today, you pack your things and once you are done, meet back downstairs and we will teach you how to use a gun. Any questions?" Everyone shook their heads. "Dismissed."

The four men stood and walked over to the kitchen in search of more food while the girls moved upstairs to Sumika's room.

Each of the girls had a bag and they filled it themselves silently. After an hour or so, they all went back downstairs.

Shadow, Blitz, Ray and Kakashi all sat on one end of the long dining table. Weapons of all shapes and sizes were spread out across the table.

"Ladies, please take a seat." Shadow instructed. "I'll be teaching you how to fix up a gun, hold your gun and reload ammo. After that, you will all get one handgun each. First, do any of you have experience with a gun?" Tomoe and Miyako raised their hands.

"Oh that's good! Mind if you show me what you can do?" Tomoe and Miyako both stood up and were handed a gun each. Looking at Shadow, they awaited his order. "Dismantle the gun." Sumika watched, completely surprise as Tomoe and Miyako stripped the gun down to nothing within seconds. "Impressive!"

"Wow, honestly. Who are you girls? First Murasame takes Shadow's kick and lives and now you girls can dismantle a gun faster than some of the other guys I know!" Blitz laughed.

"Now, reassemble it. Since you two know how to handle a gun, I need each of you to teach one of your friends. I'll teach the one left over."

Everyone nodded and got to work. Miyako and Kakashi went with Kazama, Tomoe and Blitz with Aoi, leaving Shadow with Sumika. Everyone went to their own quiet corner.

* * *

Tomoe, Blitz and Aoi

"What do you mean you refuse to hold one?" Blitz grumbled.

"Azusa-kun, we don't know what's gonna happen out there. We need you to be able to defend yourself. The gun is not loaded. Yet." Tomoe assured.

"F-fine..." Cautiously, Aoi slipped her small hand around the cold metal grip.

"Oh sure, listen to your friend and not a trained and unbelievably handsome soldier!"

* * *

Miyako, Kakashi and Kazama

"Hey don't point that thing at me! That's dangerous, ya stupid or something? Miyako yelled. Kazama only laughed.

"Come on girls. Take this seriously. So here is the lever you push in order to remove the ammo. Like this. And then you take a new one and push it upwards like this. Then pull this part backwards to click the cartridge into place. And it is ready to use." Kazama watched carefully.

_'I can't always rely on Sumi-chan. I need to be more independent' _Kazama thought.

* * *

Sumika and Shadow

"This part is to secure the cartridge. Understand?" Sumika nodded.

"How do you shoot accurately?"

"Lift your arms like this and hold your gun at eye-level. Look straight ahead and aim a little higher than your target. It'll hit."

Sumika frowned. "Aim it higher than my target?"

"Yes. Or, just aim for the body - largest surface area."

"But you said we have to blast their brains to bits."

"That's to kill them. Sometimes, hindering their movement is more than enough. There are 2 rules you should follow when we're out there. Go with your instincts and do what's best to survive. You only have one life so you better guard it properly."

"I know. So what else can you teach me?"

Shadow smirked.

* * *

Several hours passed. The sun was setting outside. The zombie's were coming out in hoards under the shelter of the night when they all assembled in the dining room again.

Once everyone was seated, Kakashi spoke up, "Tonight will be dedicated to sharing every piece of information we have on the zombies. Blitz?"

"Alright. Listen up because I'm not going to repeat any of this. First, the zombies rely on their sense of sight and hearing to track down their victims. It is 100% confirmed that they do not have a sense of taste or smell. Next, there are many different types of zombies since they all have different strains of viruses.

"So far, we have identified 3 types. The first is nothing more than a mindless walking corpse. They move extremely slowly and their senses are very dull. You could walk straight past them without them even noticing you. They are at level 1 of danger.

"The next one is a faster, more agile zombie. You'll be able to tell them two apart by the colour of their eyes. The faster one has blood red eyes. It's at level 2 of danger because it has heightened eyesight and hearing. Although you could easily outrun them, it's best to stay away or take them down immediately.

"The third type is at danger level 3 because of its enhanced strength. It relies on its eyesight only. As long as it doesn't see you, you're safe. You'll be able to identify it due to its muscular decaying build.

"How to not become a zombie- the virus is transmitted by the zombie's saliva entering your blood stream. If you have any open injuries, cover them up securely. If you get bitten, tell one of us immediately. The zombie's aren't too fond of light, which is why very few come out during the day; they do come out, but they prefer not too. Questions?"

He was met with silence.

"Okay. Now we will be planning the shortest and safest route from here to the walls." Taking out the map again, Kakashi explained, "We are here and the walls are here. which means the wisest way would be to move towards the South. It is going to be a 2 day trek. Maybe 3-4 days depending on how fast we move. We travel by day and rest by night.

"The first thing we need to do once we leave this house is move towards this weapon shop. It is a little out of the way, but better safe than sorry. After we raid this shop, we head for this supermarket. Gather some lasting food and water before storing it all into a car. Now, any of you own a car nearby?"

All eyes turned to Sumika, "Well, my dad has a car but I don't think it'll fit all of us. Plus, it's pretty old and makes lot's of noises."

"Neighbours own a big car?"

"No."

"Guess we have no choice. There is a car rental yard right here. I am certain we can find an SUV there. However, we will need to split up into teams of four and five. Team 1 with 4 people will head to the car yard. Team 2 with 5 people will head to the supermarket and gather all the supplies we require for the journey. Any further questions?"

"Who's going to be in which team?" Sumika asked, worried she'd be separated from Kazama. That was by far the last thing she wanted right now.

"Team 1 will be Kazama, Taema, Blitz and Ray. Blitz, you drive. Ray, do not blow up the car yard. Kazama and Taema, support them. Team 2 will be Murasame, Azusa, Hachisuka, Shadow and myself. No complaints about the teams. It will only be for half an hour. I am unsure of what lurks in the supermarket which is why our team is bigger. Any other questions? No? Good, because I have a few questions for you. How many of you know Karate?"

Sumika, Tomoe, Miyako all raised their hands.

"How many of you think you can fight off those zombies should they come too close?"

Miyako's hand dropped.

"Anyone else who can fight?"

No one moved.

"Anyone knows how to drive?"

Tomoe raised her hand.

"Alright then. Tomoe and Murasame. You two will be the leaders should anything happen to us. Here is a spare map with our route highlighted already. You girls all packed?"

"Yes." They nodded.

"Got candles, matches, lighters, torches, spare clothes, medical supplies, some snacks, ermm" Blitz asked.

"Ropes, daggers, blankets, watches, erm those thingies you use to tie your hair up-" Ray continued.

"Speaking of hair, I think it would be wisest if you girls have your hair tied up." Shadow insisted.

"Juz make sure ya all got everythin you need. 'Cuz we ain't stoppin once we start movin!"

"He's right. No unnecessary stops."

"Yeah yeah. You boys repeated yourself enough times." Miyako mumbled

"We got it." Sumika said

"We'll prepare dinner since you guys prepared breakfast." Kazama politely added. She moved towards the kitchen and Sumika quickly moved to follow her.

"No no no, Murasame-kun. We can't have you exploding our dinner." Tomoe grinned. Sumika was about to say something but decided not to.

"I'll help!" Aoi said as she rushed behind Tomoe and Kazama.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sumika glowered, pulling Miyako by the back of her collar.

"What do you think you're doing you big giant! Lemme go!"

"You're as bad as me! No way will I allow you to poison our dinner!"

"POISON? I wasn't the one who invented explosive food!"

"Explosive food? Fuck yeah! Ya not shittin me right gal? Damn, Murasame. Ya continue to impress me!" Ray cackled. "Come 'ere. Lemme teach ya howdah make a bomb with recycle materials!"

With nothing better to do, Sumika and Miyako half-heartedly listened to Ray talk about all the possible materials one could use to make a bomb.

The other men started sorting out their equipment. Ray, Sumika and Miyako shortly joined them after their explosive lesson ended. Bored, Sumika learnt more about the different types of guns. The recoil power, reload time, etc.

"Remember, the best thing to rely on, are your own fists! They never run out of ammo!" Shadow announced.

"We could use your help everyone. If you don't mind." Aoi called shyly from the kitchen. Everyone moved to help out but Shadow beckoned Sumika to stay behind.

"With 7 people helping, doubt 2 more would make much of a difference."

"But-"

"Tell me Murasame, what do you think's going to happen out there?"

"What do you mean? We'll obviously make it to the wall where our families are waiting." As Sumika spoke the words, a part of her felt as if she was just blabbering nonsense.

"Heh, kids will be kids... That Azusa girl. You should talk to her."

"Why?"

"Because, earlier, she didn't want to hold a gun. Once she's out of this house, she's going to freak out. No doubt about it."

"Aoi-san will be fine. She's not as weak as you think!"

"Relax, I'm just saying. I quite like you so I didn't see any reason to hold back my honest thoughts."

Sumika sighed, "She'll be fine. This is all new to us. Of course it'll take some time to get used to it."

"Get used to all the blood, gore and violence? You never get used to it Murasame. You haven't even left this house yet."

Sumika just smiled slightly.

"So... how's your girl?" Shocked, Sumika clamped his mouth shut and look towards to kitchen to see if anyone heard. Relieved, she slowly released him, "Geez, no need to get so worked up!"

"Why do you keep pestering me about that?"

"Because I've been watching her and I think-"

"Shadow-san have you seen Sumi-cha- Ah, Sumi-chan there you are!"

"Gah, Kazama! Erm-"

"What's taking so long? I'm hungry." Shadow grumbled, earning himself a jab in the ribs from Sumika.

"Ungrateful idiot." Sumika muttered.

Kazama smiled at their exchange, "We're making rice balls since I didn't know what else I could prepare. So everyone's helping to roll them up. I noticed that Sumi-chan wasn't there so I..."

"I see. Well, guess we should help out after all eh?...Sumika?"

Raising an eyebrow at his sudden use of her first name, Sumika replied, "Yeah. We should."

Shadow grinned broadly and moved to the kitchen. Shortly after, Blitz and Ray were heard screaming profanities at Shadow.

"Oh gosh, what did he do now?" Sumika asked no one in particular, "Shall we, Kazama?"

Kazama was lost in her thoughts and barely heard what Sumika but said, "Oh right. Of course."

_'He called her Sumika. Yesterday, he called her Murasame. And those two even went off on their own earlier today... He also chose to teach her how to use a gun this afternoon...Those two seem like they're getting along really well.'_ Kazama thought, _'Why am I even worried about that? Shadow-san is probably just trying to make up for what he did last night.'_

* * *

In the kitchen, Blitz, Ray and Shadow were wrestling on the floor with Miyako cheering them on. Kakashi was failing miserably at trying to separate them, Tomoe looked bored and Aoi tried her best to stay away.

"What in the world is going on here?" Everyone paused momentarily to look at Sumika who stood taller than everyone at the moment. Giving Kakashi the opportunity to pull Ray and Blitz away from Shadow.

"Why are you guys such childish idiots? We have limited food and what do you do? Throw them at each other! No dinner for you three!" Kakashi ordered. Looking extremely frazzled and irritated. "I do not want to hear your stupid complaints about who started it! Clean up this mess and apologize to the girls!"

"Sorry..." they mumbled together.

"Ah, Kakashi-san, I actually cooked extra rice and we have some leftover salmon and..."

"Since Kazama is being so kind, you boys will get to eat rice balls. And ONLY rice balls with nothing else. No fillings, no sauces, nothing."

"Whaaaaa?" Blitz whined.

"Then it's got no fucking taste!"

"Hn"

"Be grateful you get to eat at all! If we were back at base, I'd have you starve for weeks!"

"Heh, no problem for those two seeing as Ray would eat his own explosives and Blitz would be stupid enough to follow suit." Shadow cackled.

"Shadow..." Kakashi glowered, ignoring the other 2 who started screaming at Shadow again.

While this was all going on, the girls had finished all the preparations and moved the food to the dining room where they sat and chatted with each other. Once the girls had finished eating, 2 grumbling soldiers, 1 sulking one and an irritated commanding officer finally joined them. Politely excusing themselves, the girls headed back upstairs. Eager for a good nights rest.

"Good night." Sumika and Kazama said as they entered their room.

"Night." the others replied, moving into their own room.

"Tomoe-chan, let me change those bandages."

"Ah, yes please Miyako. Thank you. Azusa-kun, you can go ahead and sleep. We may take some time." Tomoe winked resulting in Aoi complaining about privacy and subtlety of Yuri romance.

* * *

Sumika's room

"Sumi-chan? Could I sleep with you again tonight?" Kazama asked hopefully. She had only just finished dressing Sumika's wounds that have scabbed up nicely.

"Of course, Kazama." Scooting over to give her best friend some room.

"Sumi-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think my brother, your brothers, dad and Noe-san are alright?"

"Yes."

"Well, I-I'm a little worried about them. Especially my brother. H-he's the only thing I have left in this world beside you guys and.. the thought of never seeing him again is just..."

"You will see him again, Kazama." Sumika said firmly.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Your brother is a smart man. Remember what Kakashi-san said? The zombies came from the North east. And it took them some time to spread down here. We saw our first zombies 10-20 minutes after those jet planes flew past. Which means your brother had that much time to find a safe place to hide in before the zombies first appeared. And with that creative mind of his, I'm sure he made sense of the situation and acted accordingly. He's probably built his own fortified barracks by now and is busy saving others, don't you agree?"

Kazama's smile grew and grew until she was once again her usual beaming self, "You're right, Sumi-chan. I feel much better now." she continued to smile as she fit herself snugly against Sumika.

"That's great. Good night then Kazama." Sumika yawned, encircling her arms around the shorter girl without second thought.

"Do you like Shadow?" the question caught Sumika off guard.

"Wha-why would you think that? No. I don't! N-no way!" Sumika stuttered. Kazama hid her troubled face from Sumika's. Afraid of what Sumika may see in her expression.

_'Why am I feeling this way? What is this feeling anyway?' _Ushio wondered.

"Good night Sumi-chan."

"Hey, aren't you going to explain the sudden question?"

Kazama shook her head.

"Ahhh, fine. Sweet dreams Kazama."

_'I love you. There is no way in hell I would ever feel any sort of attraction for another human being. But what caused you to ask that so suddenly? She even sounded a little... upset. NO. Don't do this to yourself Sumika! We're leaving tomorrow and you can't afford to be distracted. At all!'_

* * *

A/N: Hope this chapter didn't bore you to death... Next chapter: more action, more zombies and a little touch of jealousy. Please leave a review!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I bet you all missed me right? Well, here you have it. I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Sasameki Koto or any of its characters. This is merely a work of fan fiction.

* * *

"Everybody up. We haven't a second to waste. Up, up, up!" Kakashi's commanding voice boomed through the door.

Groaning from being abruptly woken up, Sumika glanced at her alarm clock. It was 4 am.

_'This man is insane. No way am I getting up so early.'_ She attempted to roll over when she found a strange weight on her arm. Looking down, she was met with Kazama's sleeping face snuggled up against her bandaged chest. _'Oh how I wish I could wake up like this every day!'_

"Murasame! Kazama! Up. NOW." Kakashi instructed, knocking on Sumika's door loudly. When Sumika looked at Kazama again, her eyes were opened drowsily and she smiled genuinely up at Sumika. "WAKE UP you kids! We don't have time for this!"

"We're up! We're up. Give us some time to get ready." Sumika shouted, her voice still raspy from waking up.

Out of nowhere, Kazama started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Sumika croaked.

"I've never heard you like that before! When your voice is husky and still half-awake, it's cute." Kazama giggled.

Sumika flushed faintly before rising to get ready with Kazama following close behind. After they freshened up, Kazama helped wrap up Sumika's wounds as tightly as possible. Today was the day they left the safety of the house and enter the great unknown.

When she was done, Sumika carefully pulled on a white long sleeved shirt and an unzipped hooded blue jacket with a pair of thick army green cargo pants. She most definitely was going in prepared. Kazama had on long black pants that were slightly too loose, a white tank top and collared baby pink jacket.

Slinging their bags over their shoulders, they gave each other a smile and exited the room that held so many precious memories for the both of them. Who knows when or if they'll ever see this place again?

Outside, Tomoe stood waiting in the hall. Soon after, Aoi joined them and they chatted quietly to each other until finally Miyako came out, mumbling a drowsy good morning.

Sumika put on a strong face and asked them, "Shall we then?"

"Before that, Murasame-kun." Tomor interrupted, "I want to tell you all that it has been a pleasure meeting you and I appreciate everything you have done for Miyako and I."

Sumika sweat dropped, "Hachi, there's no need to be so morbid. We're going to be alright. We have 4 tough soldiers with us! Now come on, it's almost 5."

Troubled by Tomoe's earlier speech, the group made their way downstairs where the 4 equiped men stood around the front door. Upon hearing their arrival, they offered them each a rice ball and handed them a handgun and holster.

Sumika wolfed down the rice ball and strapped the holster and gun onto her belt before hiding it behind her jacket. The others followed suit though not all of them had an appetite.

"Ladies, I would like to thank you for your hospitality these past 2 days and I look forward to our little trip." Kakashi grinned. "Also, keep in mind that you are to remain as quiet as possible. Don't randomly fire your gun and try not to scream at every little thing you see."

"Alright, let's go then!" Blitz announced as he, Ray and Shadow began moving the furniture out of the way. Sumika took this time to take one last look at her house. Her home. Wondering whether she would ever be able to come back after all this chaos. _'Dad, brothers, Noe-san. I'll see you in 2 days or so.' _Blinking away her tears, she stepped through her front doors one last time and into the rays of the rising sun.

"Listen up girls, we move in two lines with me taking the lead and Ray and Blitz taking up the rear. Come on, hustle!" Kakashi whispered. And they began moving wordlessly through the chilly morning air.

They started off with a slow jog along the sidewalks. Trying to stay hidden within the shadows until the sun fully rose to chase away all evil.

Sumika's eyes scanned their surroundings diligently. There was debris everywhere from the explosion one night ago, some parts of the road was covered in dried blood, some parts had glistening pools of fresh blood and piles of crimson muck.

Her senses were on overdrive - taking in every little detail around them.

Suddenly, her ears picked up a faint noise and she hastily grabbed Kakashi's shoulder before he could walk in front of an alleyway.

He looked back accusingly, but she quickly explained herself in a hushed voice, "There's something in there."

Kakashi's expression hardened and he motioned for them to stay put as he stalked soundlessly towards the alley with Shadow following close behind.

Peeking around the corner, Kakashi could make out 3 moving figures huddled around something on the floor. Shadow looked over Kakashi's shoulder, trying to identify the zombie.

"Type 1. Harmless." Kakashi looked closer to reconfirm Shadow's evaluation. Moving back to the group, he motioned for them to resume their jog and they advanced silently.

As Sumika jogged soundlessly past the opening to the alleyway, her nose wrinkled in disgust. The smell of rotting meat made her stomach churn uncomfortably as it threatened to throw out the rice ball she ate earlier. She placed a hand on her abdomen and held her breath.

Once they were past the alleyway, they faced no other obstructions as they made their way to the weapon store.

Now inside, the teenage girls couldn't help but admire all the different weapons around them. Once the men had sealed the doors, Kakashi ordered them all to find ammunitions and weapons they wanted.

Sumika stuffed several cartridges of ammo into her various pockets before she strapped on another hand gun onto her belt. She then went to check out the sword collection and passed by Miyako and Tomoe on the way.

Tomoe also had two hand guns strapped onto her belt while she played with an automatic shotgun. Probably preparing it for Miyako who was busy looking for pockets to store her ammunition.

"Here Murasame-kun. Thought you might like it," Tomoe told Sumika as she tossed an automatic rifle to her. "The ammunition is in this bag. That rifle's ideal, enough ammo and the recoil isn't too strong. Figured you'd want something that allows you to fight with if they get too close."

"Thanks, Hachi. I was actually going to find some daggers but I guess this would do." Sumika spoke while flipping the rifle from hand to hand to get used to its weight.

"Don't be so quick to say that. Daggers will always come in handy. Here, this one's one of my favourite though I'm all equiped already." Shadow handed Sumika a thick and sharp blade with an army green handle. It looked really professional, not to mention deadly.

"Thanks..." Sumika murmured. She felt like she was an amateur going for war. Slinging her rifle across her body, she sheathed the dagger and secured it on the back of her belt.

_'What are we doing here? Acting as if we know so much about weaponry. Who am I kidding. When the time comes for us to use these... I just hope we come out of it alive.'_

"Sumi-chan! Look! I found this and Blitz said I could use it!" Kazama grinned from ear to ear. Her bag was beyond full. Her belt and legs were covered with holsters of different sizes and shapes. And the gun she held raised in the air looked far too powerful for Kazama to handle, not to mention it was twice her size.

"Ah, don't you think you're over doing it Kazama?"

"Ehhh? Blitz said it was okay! He said it was better safe than sorry!"

"But, how are you going to run like that, Kazama?"

Kazama said nothing as she pouted.

"She's right Kazama. You should stick to one or two types of firearms and carry ammunitions for those two only. Having so many guns will only hinder your movement and slow you down greatly." Shadow said from behind Sumika.

"Holy shit! Woman, ya gonna have to listen to 'em! 'Cuz they fuckin right ya know! Give it a few years though, and ya'll be able to sprint faster than that idiot Blitz with all this shit slowing you down!" Ray appeared, covered head to toe with dynamites, grenades, bombs and all sorts of oddly shaped devices.

"That was not funny Blitz. Allowing her to don so many firearms. Sumika, since you are ready could you help Kazama?" Kakashi commanded with Aoi standing shyly behind him.

"Sure." Sumika then proceeded to deal with her over-excited best friend.

"Azusa-kun. Is that all you're having? Three handguns?" Tomoe asked, resting her own rifle on her shoulder while another rifle dangled by her hip.

"Y-yes. Kakashi-san says that since I don't have enough stamina to keep up with you all, it's best I travel lightly." Aoi whispered, looking very ashamed.

"It's not just you, even I can't lug around more than 3 guns!" Miyako grunted.

"R-right." Aoi smiled. Over the past 2 days, she had learnt that Tomoe and Miyako were actually much kinder than she had first thought. After all, her first impression of them wasn't exactly the best.

"Alright everyone, assemble." Kakashi instructed.

Everyone took a moment to enjoy the silence before they had to split up into 2 teams and go separate ways. Shadow and Kakashi were observing the front of the shop, trying to make sure the coast was clear before they exited.

"A few Type 1 zombies wandering around, sir. Though I suggest we give them a few minutes to stroll off." Shadow reported.

Sumika felt a gentle tug on her shirt. Turning to her left, she looked down at Kazama's striking chestnut orbs. "Sumi-chan, take care of yourself 'kay?" she whispered.

"I will. And you better be safe. Stay close to Blitz and don't let anything distract you." Feeling a surge of courage, Sumika drapped an arm around Kazama's body and pulled her into a quick hug. Kazama's arms immediately wrapped around Sumika's waist.

The hug ended as rapidly as it was initiated.

"Okay everyone. Stand with your teams. We move out at my signal. Meet at the supermarket entrance. May you all be blessed with the luck of the entire world." Kakashi said, one hand resting on the doorknob.

Hiding behind Sumika, Tomoe bent over to place a light kiss on Miyako's lips before pulling away to whisper into her ear, "I'll see you very soon Miyako. Stay safe."

"You too Tomoe-chan. I love you."

"I love you too." They shared another quick kiss before standing with their teams.

"Move out." Kakashi ordered as he opened the door swiftly. Both teams rushed out, minds firmly set on their destinations. It was bright outside. The sun had risen.

Glancing at the blazing sun overhead, Sumika thought, _'Looking at the sun like this, feels as if none of this is actually real. As if all of this was just a dream. If only.'_

Now that the streets were bathed in the golden sunlight, the bloodshed, gore and carnage were all in plain sight. Dead soldiers, rotting corpses of men, women, children decorated the streets. Aoi felt her insides twist painfully. Her eyes stung from unshed tears.

"Aoi-san. Train your eyes on the road in front of you. Stare hard at the gravel below your feet. Focus on nothing else." Sumika told her, slowing her pace to run beside her while Tomoe flanked her other side. Following Sumika's instructions, Aoi felt her bowels relax somewhat.

Team 2 ran full speed towards the supermarket. Slowing to a stop at the bus station outside their destination.

"Why are we stopping?" Sumika whispered.

"Look carefully Sumika. Over there." Shadow pointed.

Peering through the broken doors of the store, all she saw was darkness. Squinting her eyes, she could make out a few moving figures deep inside the supermarket. A particular flash of red caught her attention.

"Type 2 zombies. Right?" Sumika concluded.

"Yes. Though we can't estimate how many there are, the store is to small to house more than 5 of them. What do you say, sir?" Shadow explained.

Frowning, Kakashi sighed before giving his orders, "Team 1 will be here in 20 minutes tops." deepening his frown, he tried to think of all the pros and cons to make the best decision, "We go in." receiving a nod from everyone he continued, "Murasame, Hachisuka, Shadow and I will take the Type 2 zombies inside down. Aoi, I need you to guard our backs. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." they responded together.

"Let's go." Rising into a crouch, Kakashi and Shadow led the way towards the entrance - moving swiftly while trying to stay low. Fortunately or not for them, the zombies noticed them and they started to swarm out of the little store.

_'2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Seven zombies.' _Kakashi calculated. Using his hand, he signalled Sumika to follow him while Blitz and Tomoe take out the ones on the left.

Kakashi halted and lowered a knee to the ground. Shadow did the same. Sumika and Tomoe remained standing as they aimed their rifles towards the zombies' heads.

_'A little higher than your targets.'_ Sumika recalled Shadows words so she lifted her rifle by an inch. She had never heard real gunfire up close so when Kakashi, Tomoe and Shadow started shooting, her ears felt like they were going to explode.

Resisting the urge to drop her gun and cover her ears, she pulled the trigger and killed the last zombie with one shot. Eyes wide, she carefully lowered her gun.

"How was it Sumika? The first time's always the best." Shadow grinned.

"Come on. She can share her experiences later. We have 12 minutes before the car arrives and who knows how many zombies heard us. Let's go. You all know what you need to gather right?" they nodded. "Good. Let's make it fast"

Sumika and Aoi were in charged of water. Grabbing four baskets, they went straight to the water bottle section and dumped the entire shelf of water into their baskets. Once they fitted as many bottles as was possible, they went back to the entrance where they were to stand guard.

Tomoe had to collect as many unperishable good she could find.

'_Canned foods, snacks, dried or pickled stuff. Okay. This should be enough.' _

Lifting her two baskets with some difficulty, she walked back to the entrance where Sumika and Aoi were already waiting. Looking at her watch, she announced, "5 minutes till they arrive."

"5 seconds till those things arrive." Sumika yelped pointing her rifle towards the 3 approaching type 2 zombies. Tomoe immediately assumed her position beside Sumika.

"I'm taking the one on the right." she called as she took aim.

"The centre one's mine." Sumika responded, pulling the trigger.

They shot at the same time, the sound ringing in their ears as Sumika smiled. Two zombies lay dead on the floor, their brains painting the sidewalk. Aiming her rifle at the last one, she fired. Another thud was heard.

"You're a natural Murasame-kun!" Tomoe praised. Even she needed a few lessons to get used to the guns before she could work on her accuracy.

"Everything alright?" Shadow came carrying four baskets filled with canned food and plenty of beef jerky. It was a wonder how he could lift all those things so easily.

"All good. Murasame-kun had just taken out 2 zombies using only 2 bullets! Instant K.O."

"Wow! Looks like we have a genius here!" Shadow whistled. Sumika smiled bashfully until she caught movement in the corner of her eye.

Turning to her left, Aoi stood with her back to a group of rapidly approaching zombies.

"Aoi-san!" she screamed. Based purely on reflex, Sumika lunged forward and pulled Aoi towards her while she lifted her foot up and kicked the closest zombie in its disfigured face.

With Aoi clutching the front of her jacket, Sumika unholstered her handgun with her left and raised her rifle in her right; firing away immediately. Tomoe and Shadow hurriedly joined the fray

Huddled between Sumika's raised arms, Aoi covered her ears and bit her lip to prevent herself from crying as she concealed her face on Sumika's chest. _'Murasame-san...Thank you.'_

"Oh you cheeky bastards, sneaking around the side of the store! Kill them before they come near you! Sir, where are you? We could use an extra hand here!" Shadow screamed before he pivoted on his heel, "Shit, behind as well!"

Kakashi joined them within seconds. Taking out his guns, he joined Shadow as they kept the few zombies who were planning on ambushing them from behind.

"Where are those idiots?" Kakashi cursed.

Like a blessing from the sky, two black SUVs swerved around the bend and came bounding through the empty road before screeching to a halt in front of the store.

Blitz and Ray started shooting from behind their car doors. Miyako exited the car and started haphazardly firing at the diminishing hoard. Kazama came out but remained frozen as she stared at Sumika.

Rather, she stared at Aoi who remained within Sumika's embrace. Kazama felt her chest grow tight and her eyes narrowed in confusion.

Once the last of the undead were motionless on the floor, Shadow and Kakashi went to investigate both sides of the building.

"Move the goods into the car girls. We have company. Lot's of company!" Kakashi shouted commandingly.

Adrenaline pumped through Sumika and Tomoe's veins as they hurriedly lifted, four baskets at a time, all the goods into the backs of both cars. They were done within seconds.

Slamming the hood down, they called to Kakashi and Shadow to join them. Tomoe dragged Miyako back into the car as she squirmed, complaining about the lack of action. Sumika too had to pull Aoi's hand and guide her into the back seat of the car.

She failed to notice the pained expression on Kazama's face as she bounded into the other car. Before they had even properly entered and closed the car door, Ray and Blitz began driving off.

Sumika collapsed onto the back seat with Tomoe and Aoi on either side of her and Miyako in the front.

"Good job girls. Tomoe and Sumika especially. You guys were amazing!" Blitz congratulated in a much too joyous tone. "Now rest up. I'll wake you if there's anything important."

Relaxing her head on the cushion, Sumika closed her eyes but didn't fall asleep, the adrenaline was still coursing through her veins. Resting her head, she was contented to just listen to the low purr of their newly acquired car's engine, and Tomoe and Miyako conversing quietly.

Shortly afterward, she felt Aoi grasp her arm and a head softly tumble onto her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she found that Aoi had fallen asleep. Smiling to herself, she closed her eyes and continued to enjoy the sounds around her as they condensed into a soft humming and buzzing in the background. A few moments later, she too had drifted off into a light, dreamless doze.

* * *

It was late afternoon when Sumika was woken up from her slumber. Tomoe shook her persistently until she mumbled an incoherent, "I'm awake.".

Her senses came back to life as sleep slowly drained from her body. Aoi was already sitting at attention to whatever Blitz was up, Sumika removed her glasses so she could rub the sleep from her eyes.

"You sure about this, sir? It could be dangerous using firearms in a petrol station. Over." Blitz spoke into a black walkie talkie.

Kakashi's voice came out sounding fuzzy, "Yes. We need fuel and this station is particularly small which is ideal. After we fill up, we drive for another 2-3 hours. And then make camp. But for now, I need you to move your best shooters to the left hand side. We're approaching the petrol station. Over and out."

"You heard the man. Let's do this."

"Alright. Let's blow some zombie brains out!" Miyako cheered. Far too excited on Sumika's opinion. Tomoe leaned back to make room for Sumika so that the taller girl could kneel on the narrow floor. Both of them had their guns ready as Tomoe started to wind down the window.

"See that petrol station? That's where we're headed. I warn you. Do not shoot at the stalls. Last thing we need is an explosion. Got it?"

"Hn." Tomoe grunted.

"What happens after they're all dead?" Aoi asked from the back.

"I drive into the station and proceed to fill this baby with fuel while you girls get out and watch the area." Blitz answered. "Okay. Get ready. There they are."

The car ahead of them had started firing already as they decelerated to a stop directly in front of the station. Tomoe's group joined them the moment their car halted. She could see why Kakashi had chosen this particular petrol station.

It was in a newly built residential area where the neighbourhood of houses were a convenient distance away. The station stood on its own, in the middle of a wide expanse of flat empty land. Ideal for a zombie killing spree.

Sweat dripped down Miyako's brow as she reloaded her gun. "How do they all fit into such a tiny shop?"

"They don't. As long as there's a little shade, they'll gather there. And that large roof provides them with just that." Blitz yelled over the sound of gunfire. After seeing the number of zombies present, he too had joined in on the shooting.

Bullets sliced through the air from both cars before embedding themselves into the various body parts of the zombies. The zombies took the bullets without a care in the world as they groaned and dragged themselves across the station. Pieces of flesh hung from their bodies as they trained their lifeless and crazed eyes on their prize.

Another few minutes passed and not a single zombie remained standing.

To Sumika, she felt as if it was far too easy. _'They said Type 2 zombies with the red eyes moved faster than the others and yet, it moves so sluggishly. They even lost 6 men to a bunch of these. How is it that we're able to take them out so easily?'_

Blitz and Ray now parked the car somewhere free of zombie guck while Kakashi and Shadow ran towards the little store. All of a sudden, Shadow's booming voice announced, "Stalls 3 and 6, please begin filling your cars with our top grade petrol. We wish you a pleasant drive ahead. Have a zom-tastic day."

"Fuck yeah, let's get these babies filled up! Yo Shadow, bring some of 'em extra petrol! Ya never know when these babies needa drink! Can't be slowin down in da middle of da nowhere." Ray laughed.

While Blitz and Ray were refueling the cars, Shadow and Kakashi raided the store looking for something to munch on. The girls on the other hand were vigilantly on guard.

Doing another round, Sumika could see no approaching zombies.

'_The sun is high in the sky, no way any zombies would come out in this heat and light.' _Sumika thought as she felt sweat drip down her face, neck and back. _'Perhaps I shouldn't have dressed so warmly.'_

Glancing at her friends, she saw that Tomoe had ditched her black jacket and Sumika decided it was best to do so too so she placed her gun on the floor and pulled off her jacket. Tying it around her hips, she didn't notice Aoi approaching until she spoke up.

"Murasame-san, I was wondering if you were thirsty?" Aoi asked. Her face had a pink tint to it as she offered Sumika a bottle of water.

"Ah, yes please Aoi-san. It's so hot eh?" Sumika took the bottle and drank a few mouthfuls, enjoying the feel of cold water running down her throat.

"Yes, it is. Do you want me to help you put your jacket in the car, Murasame-san?" Aoi offered. Confused at Aoi's behavior, Sumika raised an eyebrow. Aoi only blushed harder and said in a quiet voice,"It's just that... you've been so kind to me all this time. All of you have. And all I've been is a deadweight, holding you back."

"Aoi-san. Don't say that. We're all as shaken up as you are. Just that, we're able to ignore what's happened and rely on our instincts to fight back. You're not a burden, Aoi-san, you just need some time to accept what's happened, okay?" Sumika consoled, grinning as she ruffled Aoi's neat hair.

Aoi returned the smile and gave a small nod.

* * *

"Are you okay, Kazama-kun?" Tomoe asked, waving a hand in front of Kazama's face. She had noticed the exchange between Sumika and Aoi, though she didn't expect Kazama to start zoning out while they were talking.

"Ah, Yes! I'm fine. Just a little tired is all!"Kazama giggled.

Tomoe said nothing. Only nodded and resumed her guard duty.

_'I wonder what Kazama-kun thought when she saw Murasame-kun and Aoi-kun together just now. Since I know about Murasame-kun's feelings, I have no doubt that she was just being friendly. Aoi-kun knows as well so she was probably being nice as well... But what did their exchange look like to the clueless Kazama-kun? I wonder...'_

Sparing a glance at Kazama's troubled expression, Tomoe frowned _'Could it be that Kazama-kun is... jealous? It's obvious that Kazama-kun has feelings for Murasame-kun though either she won't admit them or she really hasn't realised yet...'_

A voice pulled her out of her musings. Miyako's.

"Looks like big tities' starting to feel something for the four eyed giant. You going to give them a shove in the right direction, Tomoe-chan?"

Tomoe looked thoughtful for a second, eyeing Sumika's easy smile, Kazama's blank expression before her eyes rested on the corpses on the floor.

"Under normal circumstances I would let nature take it's course. But right now, we're facing a life-threatening crisis. A situation where we could die any day as we travel across these zombie infested roads." Raising a hand to shush Miyako from protesting, she continued, "It's the truth Miyako. Sure, we have been doing very well so far but I have this growing dread in the pit of my gut and I don't like it one bit. So yes. I will give them a friendly shove. Starting with this car ride. Come on, I need to speak to Murasame-kun."

* * *

"Ladies, we're leaving! Get your lunch and hop in." Shadow called, holding packets of buns. Tomoe went up to him and whispered something in his ear which caused him to grin broadly, "Ray, I'm driving. Quit complaining or I'll eat your share of food!

Kazama, Aoi, Kakashi, Blitz and Ray boarded one car with Blitz driving. Sumika, Tomoe, Miyako and Shadow entered the other one. The two cars then drove off with Blitz leading the way.

The journey was relaxing as Sumika munched on her bun. It tasted a little stale but she was happy to finally have food in her system.

"Murasame-kun. Do you intend on confessing to Kazama anytime soon?" Tomoe asked earnestly.

Sumika choked on her bread , "Wha-" Swallowing the lump of bread before washing it down with some water, she said, "That has nothing to do with you!"

"I know." Tomoe paused, "So are you thinking about confessing?"

Sumika sighed, thinking, '_this was going no where. Might as well entertain her'_, "No."

"I see." Tomoe exhaled, "Murasame-kun, what would happen if, god forbid, we were to die tomorrow?"

Sumike expected this, using the 'it's the end of the world! Better confess your feelings before you die' strategy.

"Nothing will happen. I'm not going to tell Kazama how I feel just to get it out of my system before I die. That's not what I want."

"Then what do you want?" It was Shadow who asked this time, watching Sumika from the rearview mirror.

Thinking hard, Sumika took a while to answer, "I want her to stay by my side. I want her to love me... Be it the love between lovers or best friends. I can't afford to lose her because of my own selfishness. We're in such a disastrous situation right now. The last thing I need is for Kazama to hate me. Or ignore me. Or feel disgusted by me. I won't be able to live with myself. And right now, one mistake would mean the end of us all."

"Have you ever thought that maybe she's capable of loving you back?" Tomoe questioned. Turning around to look at Sumika with a stern face.

"Of course. But every time, it only ended with that hope killing another part of me. I can't endure the heart ache any more." Sumika whispered, eyes downcast as she struggled with her tears.

"You know, there was a girl I had a crush on before I left my home to join the army. She was my childhood friend and for a long, long time, I was in love with her." Shadow started,

"One day, I fell gravely ill and every day, she would drive over and sit by my bedside and we would spend hours just chatting and laughing. It went on for weeks and slowly, I was recovering from my sickness. And then Valentines day came, I promised myself that if she gave me chocolates like she usually does, I would confess to her.

"But then my mother came into my room holding a box of chocolates, her eyes were swollen and red from crying. She walked over to my bedside, held my hand and told me that my crush, the girl of my dreams, had been involved in a car accident where she died instantly. The police found a box of chocolates in the car addressed to me and were kind enough to deliver it to us. When I opened the box, there was a card inside that read,

To my dearest Shun,

We have been best friends for 9 years. Let's be lovers for the next 5 decades.

P.S. I hope the chocolates will help you get well soon!

P.P.S I love you.

"When I recovered from my sickness, I didn't know what to do. I was so lost without her and I started to get angry. I got mad at everyone and anyone who came close to me. When I accidentally shouted at my mum and said horrible things, I decided to get away from home for a while and so I joined the army. So there you have it. I waited for far too long until it was already too late. Now I have to live with it for the rest of my life."

No one said a word.

"My point is Sumika, " Shadow said, glancing at Sumika on the rear-view mirror, "Don't take death so easily. It's an easy way out for the one who dies but those around them suffer for the rest of their lives. What happens if you don't die but she does, Sumika?"

With that, Shadow focused on the road ahead. Tomoe turned back and switched on the radio, loading a CD she found in the dashboard. Soothing music filled the car.

Sumika was lost in her thoughts, Shadow's last question echoed in her mind, 'What happens if you don't die but she does, Sumika?'

_'What would I do? Life without Kazama... Walking to school by myself... School without Kazama cooing at the cute girls in her magazines... Kazama's breath-taking light brown eyes... What would I do without Kazama? Life without Kazama...'_

"Hey four eyed giant," Miyako whispered. Sumika turned away from the window to look expectantly at Miyako who had scooted closer, "I took a chance with Tomoe-chan. She's the granddaughter of the great Hachisuka Industry and I'm the daughter of their driver and yet I took the risk. You know why?"

Sumika shook her head lamely, she had heard about the Hachisuka Industries and how they owned one-third of the country's businesses. But hadn't known about who Miyako had been.

"Because Tomoe-chan was worth that risk. Is your beloved big boobies worth you taking the risk? If yes, then I suggest you do it soon." Turning back, Miyako moved back to the far right of the car.

_'Of course Kazama's worth the risk. But what if she says no? Everything would be all weird between us. And why does everyone keep thinking that we're going to die! I have to stay alive. Dad, my brothers, even Noe-san are waiting for me behind the walls. No! I won't confess to Kazama. Neither of us are going to die any time soon. In fact, no one is going to die. Not on my watch. I can't keep thinking about death. Instead, I'll focus all my energy and concentration into keeping everyone else alive. Because a life without Kazama, wouldn't be worth living at all.'_

* * *

Hours later, the sun was still shining brightly in the sky though in a matter of hours, the sun would begin its descend, leaving the world shrouded in darkness once again.

The only two moving objects in the vicinity entered an unspoilt and new housing estate. Rows and rows of newly built houses stood vacant and for a moment, it felt as if all was normal in the world.

There was no blood, no zombies, no rubble, no ash and the air wasn't heavy with the smell of death and decay. They drove up a hill where the houses were less concentrated, had bigger gardens and the houses were much larger. Parking in front of the house at the very top of the hill, every one got out.

"It's locked, sir." Blitz informed, tugging the thick chain as proof.

The house sat alone at the peak of the hill with their neighbours a distance away and was surrounded by a sturdy fence and a huge gate. A chain went round the gate and a large lock sat in front.

"We're going to have to climb over it unless one of us can pick it." Blitz mumbled and the soldiers went to inspect the lock.

While the men examined the chain like a bunch of scientists surrounding an alien specimen, the girls walked around the house. Trying their hardest to 'admire' the view.

From their altitude, they could see exactly where the explosions had occured, leaving behind massive barren dents in the ground.

They could see damaged houses, tall buildings that had collapsed. Burnt remains of where the raging fires had reigned after the bombs. Some smoke still rose from the ash as thin, wispy pillars of pitch black smoke drifting in the occasional breeze. And the smoke was just about everything that moved.

Next to Kazama, Sumika gasped slightly. Her teeth clenched together as she tightened her fists.

"What is it, Sumi-chan?" Kazama asked in a worried tone.

Raising a hand to point to one of the desolate remains of the explosion, she narrowed her eyes and spoke in a shaky voice, "That was where the Gyofukan Dojo was."

_'Gyofukan Dojo... That's where her brothers and fathers were!' _Kazama thought.

"Murasame-kun..." Tomoe moved to comfort her taller friend.

What once was their peaceful and beautiful town was now a war zone. The sound of a car engine brought the girls back to their surroundings. The men had somehow managed to open the lock and they were now parking the cars in the driveway.

"Let's go in then shall we?" Tomoe whispered softly, as if speaking any louder would break the fragile moment of peace.

The girls started moving towards the house before they realized that Sumika wasn't with them. Looking back, they saw her standing by the cliff where they all were moments ago.

"Sumi-chan! Aren't you coming in?"

"No. I think I'll stay out here for a while." She replied nonchalantly.

Kazama was going to say something but Tomoe stopped her, "Leave her be. She needs some time alone."

The moment Sumika heard the doors close, she broke down. Falling to her knees, she cried.

Tears fell from her eyes like flood water gushing down a mountain side after a dam broke apart. Yanking her glasses off and throwing them to the grass harshly, she slammed her fists into the earth. All her pent up emotions came rushing out like a tidal wave.

She placed her palms flat on the dirt with her head between her arms as she bawled like never before. Soon enough, she found it hard to breath properly. Desperately gasping for breath, Sumika continued to cry. Fat round tears soaked the earth below her.

Her hands clenched into fists - digging up the dirt and grass before she began pounding her fists into the ground. Welcoming the numbing sensation her arms brought.

_'Dad, Keigo, Shiro, Taka. Chances are, even Noe-san didn't make it out alive. Who was I kidding? Clinging onto false hope that my family had made it out alive while we're all stuck in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of idiotic soldiers...' _

_'How could I be so childish? Believing that they had made it safely to the walls before we even knew about its existence. And that they were actually waiting for me to arrive? And then what? Live happily ever after while thousands others have lost their loved ones? How could I be so selfish! Kazama's brother... Kiyori-chan and her family... Hachi and Miyako's family... Stop being selfish, Sumika! Stop crying! Other's have lost their loved ones too! But... Dad, Keigo, Shiro, Taka, Noe-san. Dad, Noe-san, Taka...'_

With a burst of agony, Sumika lifted her head back and screamed her emotions for the world to hear. Her hands remained limp by her side as tears streamed down her face.

Her heart-breaking cry echoed through the darkening skies. Unbeknownst to her, 4 girls were all standing by the front gate. Watching her with pained expressions. Listening to their level-headed friend weep to herself as they too struggled with their own tears as they thought about their own families.

* * *

Two hours passed before Shadow had had enough. Marching towards her, he forcefully hauled Sumika up from the floor. Grabbing her by her shoulders, he shook her roughly.

"Get a grip!" he shouted staright into her face.

Her eyes were glazed over and bloodshot from all the crying.

_'The eyes of those who had lost all hope.' _Shadow hissed. He hated those kinds of people the most. Where was that determined glint he saw just a few days ago? He definitely did not expect her to be the first to break down like this.

"Look at me, Sumika! I said look at me!"

Sumika ignored him to stare solemnly at the ground. Completely lost in a trance as she endlessly repeated the names of her loved ones in her head.

She was disrupted from her chant when a blunt force connected with her jaw, sending her crumpling to the floor. Her hand instinctively flew to her cheek where it began to throb slightly. From the corner of her eyes, she saw her friends try to approach her but was stopped by Blitz, Ray and Kakashi.

Anger flared inside her. '_First I lose my family and now this son of a bitch is trying to pick a fight with me?' _

"What the hell was that for?" Sumika roared, surprising even herself with the severity of her voice.

"I just couldn't stand that look of utter defeat on your pathetic tear streaked face, is all." Shadow shrugged, his tone too was laced with venom, "Whatcha gonna do about it? Cry some more?" he mocked.

Sumika's eyebrow twitched. Her fists clenched and unclenched. Her teeth were grinding against each other. Now that she had cried all her emotions away, all she felt was a growing rage and resentment for the man who had just punched her while she was in her most vulnerable state.

"What? Did you expect me to comfort you? You're better than that, Sumika. So stop wallowing in your own self-pity and stand up!"

Narrowing her eyes, she graciously stood up. Running her tongue over her dry lips, she tightened her fists. Ready to beat the shit out of the man who stood so proudly in front of her.

"What do you care?" she snarled menacingly before she charged straight at him. Fists raised.

She punched. He dodged. He kicked. She ducked. She lunged. He evaded. He advanced. She fell.

Sliding across the tar road, Sumika spat the crimson fluid from her mouth. He had successfully punched her twice. In the same spot. Within the span of 5 minutes. That didn't sit well with the Karate prodigy, Murasame Sumika. Once again, she rose from the ground and sprinted towards him.

She punched. He dodged. He kicked. She ducked. She lunged. He evaded. He advanced. She fell. This went on for the next half hour until the sky was slowly darkening and both Sumika and Shadow were bruised and panting.

Glaring daggers at each other, Shadow was the first to give up, too tired to continue charging each other and throwing punches and kicks that rarely connected. Throwing his arms up, he sat on his behind with his arms supporting his weight.

In ragged breaths, Sumika puffed, "I... Hate.. you".

Through their spar, she had used up all her energy and fury until she realised how truly pathetic she was. But she was still a mere teenage girl. The fight had made her realise that although it was okay to cry, she had crossed the line. Hope was all they had left and she couldn't afford to give it up. There was always hope. As long as she believed.

"Yeah, yeah. You're welcome. Come on, we better get inside before the sun sets completely." As he spoke, his breath came out as white puffs of mist. The air was indeed getting colder. Winter was near.

"Yeah." she breathed. Watching her white breath disappear.

"SUMI-CHAN!" Kazama wailed as she threw herself at Sumika. Enveloping her in a sweaty bear hug.

"Sorry to make you worry Kazama." Sumika whispered, gladly returning the hug.

"Murasame-kun." Tomoe said sternly once Kazama had released Sumika, "We're here for you."

"That's right, you big dummy!" Miyako pouted.

"Murasame-san..."

After her emotional break down, Sumika felt truly happy. Smiling broadly, Kazama supported her as they all made their way inside. The soldiers and high school kids casually entered the house and locked up the gates behind them. Laughing all the way.

* * *

A/N: AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! How was it? Please, please do tell me what you think by leaving a review for me :D

Next Chapter: look forward to a new face, more emotion and much, much more of our beloved pair - Sumika and Ushio!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Here it is! Chapter 4! Okay, this chapter took a LOT of time for me to write and I really, truly need your opinions on this one! Whether you liked it, hated it, anything, **PLEASE TELL ME** and I'll do my best to change it and make it better! So that's it from me, read away! Don't forget to review! PLEASE! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Sasameki Koto. (if I did, Sumika would be a secret agent and Ushio would be a ninja assasin... or maybe not.)

* * *

The night was a brilliant shade of black with endless blue streaks breaking the solid pattern. The moon drifted high in the sky, illuminating the destroyed town in its eerie white light. It casted shadows on the zombies decaying faces as they scoured the streets in search for fresh victims.

South of the centre of the town, on a hilll that stood out from everything else, was a house where tiny hints of orange candlelight escaped the heavily barricaded windows and doors. No zombies came near this area. There simply was nothing there an undead could or would eat. Or so their infected brains assumed.

* * *

"Oww! Can't you be any gentler?" Shadow squirmed underneath Blitz's grip.

"Sorry ya motherfucker! But the fact that ya fucking beat up a girl like that for the SECOND TIME? Juz dun sit well wit me!" Ray cursed.

"Ray, it's really okay! I needed to vent my anger somehow... Plus, he was holding back while I didn't. At all... So it's kinda my fault... Sorry." Sumika apologised. Her bruises were being treated by Kazama who seemed 100% focused on Sumika's wounds though her mind was elsewhere.

_'The last time I saw her cry was... I don't even remember ever seeing Sumi-chan cry...Now I'm worried about Onii-chan. I hope he's okay. The apartment building wasn't damaged at all so he's most probably okay. But... how do I be there for you, Sumi-chan? She's probably already locked up all her emotions again. Putting on that fake smile so that no one will worry about her... Why won't you let me in?'_

"Because she loves you." a voice inside her head said. Kazama was about to ignore it like she usually does but she was confused by it.

_'What do you mean? Sumi-chan won't let me in because she loves me? That doesn't make any sense!' _Kazama was met with silence. _'Is that the only phrase you can say? 'Because she loves you.'? Oh my god, I'm talking to myself...'_ Kazama giggled at that last thought.

"What's so funny?" Sumika asked when she noticed that Kazama was chuckling softly beside her.

"Oh, it's nothing." Recalling what the voice in her head said, she asked out loud, "Say, Sumi-chan... Do you love me?"

The whole room fell silent.

Sumika was shocked - her jaw was locked in position and her eyes wide behind her thick lenses. A million thoughts raced through her mind within the next milisecond.

_'Why the sudden question? What on earth was she laughing about earlier? Does it have something to do with her question? What kind of love does she mean? Love love or just love? As in like love? Not the real love love? What the hell am I doing? Say something!'_

All eyes were on Sumika who had suddenly grew rigid. Sensing the atmosphere, Shadow tried to break it by yelping loudly as if in pain. That worked effectively as everyone was distracted by the sudden noise.

"Ahh, you know what Ray? I'll tend to my own injuries! Blitz. Carry that kit! Ray. Get me some food! Kakashi. Carry me upstairs!" the 4 men hurriedly excused themselves, instantly realising their comrade's intention.

Unaffected by all the commotion, Kazama turned back to Sumika with a serious look, "So Sumi-chan? Do you love me?"

"O-o-of course!" Sumika managed, nervously scratching the back of her head with her free hand. Tomoe was observing the 2 carefully. Trying to figure out Kazama's abrupt question's intentions while secretly hoping that Sumika will accidentally say something wrong.

_'A slip of word right now would be nice, Murasame-kun' _Tomoe smirked, crossing her arms in anticipation of Kazama's reaction.

"I see. What kind of love, Sumi-chan?"

"Er, you know! The kind..." _'where you fall madly in love with someone and can't stop thinking about them regardless of what you're doing or where you are.'_ Sumika wanted to say but instead, she continued with a little hesitation, "2 best childhood friends share?"

A little disappointed Kazama decided to stop her weird questions.

_'Of course. Sumi-chan loves me because I'm her best friend! So that's what the voice in my head meant. Gosh, what other kind of love could there be ... Oh no. Was the voice referring to... No, no! What am I even thinking about right now? Sumi-chan and I! No way, she's the polar opposite to cute! Or...' _

Kazama's heart begun to race. Lifting her gaze, she looked at Sumika who was now talking to an unusually irritated Tomoe. She felt her heart skip a beat every time Sumika's lips curved upwards into her trademark apologetic smile, kind eyes shimmering in the dim orange glow.

Her eyes widened as she made sense of everything she had been feeling recently. The tightness in her chest when Sumika was protecting Aoi and speaking to her so intimately at the store and petrol station respectively. The ache in her heart when Shadow had called her by her first name. All the silly things fell into place and Kazama's smile faded.

_'But... it couldn't be.'_ Kazama whispered mentally.

Images of Sumika's bloodied face above hers when her best friend had used her body to protect Kazama from the explosion flashed across her mind. She was reminded of how her heart had raced and her cheeks had flushed when she was treating Sumika's wounds back at the Murasame house.

How lonely she felt when she wasn't in the same car as Sumika. The feeling of dread and concern as she watched Sumika cry and then fight Shadow, unable to do anything to help.

_'No.. it couldn't be... Why Sumi-chan? Why now? Since when have I...?' _

"HAAAAA!" Everyone turned to see Tomoe marching around, one fist planted on her hip while the other massaged the bridge of her nose, "I can't take this anymo-"

"Ding dong~" all heads snapped to stare at the front door in confusion and fear.

"Was that..." Aoi muttered, uncertain.

"No doubt about it." Sumika breathed.

"Someone... or something's outside." Tomoe finished.

The girls leaped up to retrieve their guns as they cautiously made their way to the front door. The men upstairs had rushed down upon hearing the doorbell.

"Everyone stay low and keep quiet. Do not fret, it is most probably a survivor. No walking undead creature can ring a doorbell. We'll handle this." Kakashi commanded as the doorbell sounded again.

"F man. This is exciting!" Ray cheered under his breath.

"Blow out those candles. I'm going to take a peek outside." Blitz said, slowly moving towards the windows that had been covered by layers and layers of blankets. Using two fingers, he gently moved the cloth to the side and peeked outside, "It's too dark but I can roughly make out 2 people outside. One's carrying the other who seems to be unconscious. Let them in."

At his order, Shadow and Kakashi unbolted the front door after motioning the girls to stay back, "We don't know if they've been bitten or not so just stay behind." Shadow said before making his way out with Ray and Blitz following as back-up.

The girls could faintly hear the conversation between the survivors and soldiers outside. They seemed to be having an argument before Kakashi's gruff voice silenced them all.

A minute later, the sound of a lock and chains being moved around reached the girls ears.

When Kakashi came back in, he looked troubled.

Once everyone had entered the house with the front doors locked behind them, Kakashi relit the candles and the dim orange glow illuminated the faces of the two new occupants of the room.

Tomoe's eyes narrowed as she took in their new comrades. The one who was unconscious now laid on the floor. She was covered in blood. Her clothes were tattered and torn revealing several claw marks and...

_'Bite marks.'_ Tomoe realised with horror, _'Which will explain the morbid looks on the guy's faces.'_

Looking over to where the men were gathered, she felt pity for the girl's friend,_ 'I hope you guys'll be able to figure out the best way to break such news to her...'_

Raising her eyes to the kneeling girl beside the body, Tomoe saw that she was glaring at the ground as she fought against her tears.

_'A strong spirit eh?' Tomoe frowned sadly._

Taking a moment to observe her, Tomoe noticed that she was a mess herself, her white shirt was stained red, she had a long black cloth tied around her right arm. Probably a makeshift bandage. Her light brown hair was short, spiky and scruffy. Her baggy dirty, white pants strangely resembled a Karate uniform. Tomoe opened her mouth to somehow break the silence but she stopped when Sumika spoke first.

"Yabase-san?" Sumika exhaled, unable to believe that out of everyone in their entire city, her rival and friend knelt on the ground before her. Hearing her name, Yabase looked up to see a familiar face after the past few days of pure horror.

"Sumi...ka?"

"It really is you!"

"Heh, I'm insulted Sumika. A bit of blood s'all it takes for ya to not recognize me?" Yabase gave them a shaky smirk.

"You know her, Sumi-chan?" Kazama asked. _'Sumi-chan's never mentioned her before...'_

"Yeah, Yabase-san and I practise Karate together every once in a while." Sumika's smile turned into a frown as she easily saw past her friends tough exterior.

_'I knew that was a Karate uniform!' _Tomoe thought.

"Hey Sumika, whaddaya standin aroun'fo? Introduce us!" Yabase exclaimed, shoving all her worries and sorrow behind her large grin.

"Ah, right. Yabase Takemi is a friend and also a rival. She's 19 this year making her 3 years older than us and 1 year older than Hachi. Yabase-san, these are my friends, we attend the same high school. Kazama Ushio, Hachisuka Tomoe, Taema Miyako and Azusa Aoi."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Yabase stood and they bowed to each other.

"Sorry to cut short your friendly introductions but I would like to have a word with Yabase-san. If you would please join me in the kitchen, Yabase-san." Kakashi ordered.

The other 3 men stayed behind as the two made their way to the kitchen at the back. Silence echoed through the empty house.

"Poor lad. Her whole Karate team had been in town to take part in an annual competition between her school's team and some other school team." Blitz explained.

"Everyone else in her team's dead. She's the only one left who's still human. Apparently she had spotted our car and tried to follow us while carrying her friend around." Shadow said tilting his head to the girl who laid motionless on the floor.

"She's lucky no zombie was attracted to her. Probably 'cause of her friend's odour." Blitz nodded to himself.

"Wait what? Odour?" Sumika repeated.

"Didn't we mention before?"

"Yeah, how an infected human gives off a certain smell that only those zombies can detect? So that they know who to kill and who to leave alone!"

"You said they had a horrible sense of smell!" Miyako argued as the others nodded firmly in agreement.

"I guess we really didn't say so eh?"

"NO!" the girls yelled together while the soldiers laughed nervously. "Geez, you guys are usel-"

"NO FUCKING WAY!" A voice shouted from the kitchen before Yabase ran out to stand protectively in front of her fallen comrade. Eyes fierce and deadly. "You're lying. Yer just want her outta the way so that she dun slow you selfish soldiers down!" Yabase spat in a voice full of malice.

"We can understand how difficult this is for you however it has to be done." Kakashi said in a tired voice.

The other occupants in the room were at a lost for words. There was, after all, no easy way to tell someone you needed to kill their friend for the sake of all their wellbeings.

"It is only a matter of hours before she wakes up with the urge to kill and devour human flesh." Kakashi explained, eyes full of pity for the furious girl.

"No. I ain't gonna let you touch her!" Yabase persisted, her tears threatening to overflow.

Sumika slowly made her way towards her friend. Her footsteps echoed loudly in the quiet house. She towered over Yabase with her back to the others. Placing a hand on both her shoulders Sumika hunched over so she could look directly into Yabase's eyes.

"Yabase-san, they're telling the truth. Your friend... she's gone. I don't know what kind of person your friend was though I'm sure that if she were here, she would tell you to end her life completely right now. No one in their right mind would want to turn into those monsters and start attacking fellow friends and family.

"I understand that she was your driving force to keep you going. That's why you carried her up this hill in the first place. Take a look around now, Yabase-san." Stepping back, Sumika waved one hand around the room, "You're among friends and allies. You're no longer alone. Let Kakashi-san do what needs to be done. After that, we'll give her a proper burial. How's that sound?"

Yabase turned to stare at her friends unmoving body. _'Sumika's right. I... I need to let go.'_

Yabase huffed then knelt down on one knee. With her other hand, she gently caressed her fallen friends bloodied face and whispered her apology before standing straight up, "Do it somewhere I won't see or hear." she stated before walking out of the room.

Sumika released a long sigh as the soldiers began moving around.

"Thank you." Kakashi nodded.

"How're you going to do it? Outside?" Sumika asked instead, massaging the bridge of her nose.

"Yes. Shadow, how is it out there?"

"All clear. We'll move the body outside now." Shadow said.

"You girls go get cleaned up. Fortunately, the house has water thanks to the massive water tank outside. We'll take care of things around here."

"Finally. I really need a shower." Miyako states as they started going up the stairs.

"Mmhm. A shower sure sounds nice." Kazama murmured, stretching her arms over her head. Before she disappered upstairs she turned back and asked, "You coming, Tomoe-chan, Sumi-chan?"

Flashing her a grin, Tomoe called "We'll be with you girls in a second. Go on ahead without us."

Once they were gone, she turned to see Sumika emptying her bag before stuffing some food, water and the first-aid kit into it.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tomoe asked.

Sumika looked up, "Ah, you should go ahead and freshen up upstairs. I think I'm gonna keep Yabase-san company for a while."

Swiveling on her heel to head for the kitchen, she was yanked by the hood of her jacket by Tomoe. "Gah!" she yelped before landing painfully on her bum, "What was that for?"

Lowering herself to one knee, Tomoe repeated, "I'll ask you again, Murasame-kun. What do you think you're doing?"

Making sure no one else could hear their conversation, Sumika replied in a soft voice, "If you're referring to what I said earlier then nothing. Kazama doesn't think about me like that. She doesn't so much as even look at me like that. So why should I get my hopes up only to have my heart broken... again."

"Then where are you going? Kazama-kun is that way, not this way."

"I'm going to keep an injured friend company, I think we can both agree she's been through a lot."

"That goes for all of us." Tomoe muttered before standing up to walk up the stairs.

Sumika stood and straightened her clothes. Grabbing her bag, she headed out the back door to the garden where Yabase now sat with her arms resting on her knees on the grass under the vast, open sky.

Approaching her slowly, Sumika dropped the bag next to Yabase to announce her arrival as she peeled off her jacket and drapped it over her friends shoulders. Yabase kept quiet as Sumika sat down on the overgrown grass beside her.

Both took a minute to stare at the beautiful, glittering starry night sky. A sight both girls rarely saw because of all the artificial city lights. But when their town was overrun by zombies and had no electricity, the divine wonder of nature emerged as if to urge them forward; to show them that when something ends, something wonderful is always close by.

Lowering her gaze, Sumika observed Yabase from head to toe.

"Did you use your black belt as a bandage?" Sumika felt herself smile.

"Heh, yeah. If my sensei were ta find out, I'd be skewered in a flash!"

The two shared a laugh before a comfortable silence settled between them.

"Oh, how could I forget?" Sumika gasped before rummaging in her bag and pulling out a bottle of water and an energy bar. "Here. You must be famished."

Taking the bottle of water first, Yabase gulped it all down in a matter of minutes. "Thanks. I needed that." Yabase said as she took the energy bar and slowly bit into it. Savouring the taste of real food for the first time in days.

"Can I treat your injuries?" Taking out the first aid kit, Sumika offered.

"Sure. Though I think I should shower first to wash the dried blood off."

"True. I'll tend to them later then. Can I remove your 'bandage' though?" Sumika said, using her fingers to make quotation marks in the air.

"Yes please. It's starting to get yucky." Offering her right arm to Sumika, she continued eating as Sumika carefully unravelled the belt wrapped tightly around her friend's entire arm.

"What happened?" Sumika asked once the belt was off. Her eyes scanned over the deep gashes that ran down the length of Yabase's arm. It was at least 30 - 40 centimetres long, starting from her shoulder downwards.

"It's quite a funny story, if you ignore the results of it. Okay," Shifting her sitting position so that she faced Sumika, she started telling her story, "Here goes. It happened yesterday. We were camping at an abandoned house at night, quietly discussing things and tending to each others injuries when somehow, those creatures found us and were trying to get in. We had to escape right?

"So we ran out the back door but those monsters got in and were following us. We were starting to gain some distance between us and them until we ran straight into another mob of them. We fought, obviously. And they managed to kill almost every single one of us. But that's that. So this one zombie came at me with its glowing red eyes right?"

Sumika nodded, smiling slightly at how animatedly Yabase was telling her story, "So in return, I deliver a high kick aimed straight at his head and then pop! Its head fell off!"

"What?" Sumika laughed. Trying to imagine that happening.

"Yeah!" Yabase was on her knees now, lost in her excitement. "I had to hide the urge to laugh but then while I was distracted, it used its nails and clung onto my arm right here. I panicked and yanked my arm away. Oh lord, the pain was vicious after that. And then the others were calling me to retreat and so I did.

"We ran but when I looked back, I saw that headless thing walk straight into a pole before crashing into another monster behind it! I swear, it was like something out of a comedy TV-show! Best part was, headless clutched onto the one it bumped into and refused to let go!" Yabase re-enacted that bit out by grasping Sumika's arm and started shaking.

"They were like struggling and pushing and pulling and clawing at each other until headless was shoved into the ground!" With that, Yabase pushed Sumika and they landed on the grass cackling with Yabase on top of Sumika. They stayed like that for a while even after their laughter had died down.

"I'm surprised you didn't run into a pole yourself, Yabase-san."

"Well, " Yabase hesitated, "I wouldn't say pole..."

Sumika turned her head to look at Yabase who had her head hidden at the crook of Sumika's neck. "Are you serious?" And the two started snickering again.

"Say, Sumika. Yer got another one of those bars?" Yabase whispered. Through their close contact, Sumika could feel Yabase's stomach growl quietly.

Chuckling lightly, Sumika said, "As a matter of fact, I do. Come on, get off me so I can get it." Pushing herself off Sumika, Yabase waited patiently as Sumika produced yet another bar from her bag and tossed it to her.

"Ya know, you girls sure are lucky to have those soldiers with yer." Yabase said, her invincible, defensive walls rose behind her eyes once again. "Have ya been travelling together all this time?"

Lying down next to Yabase who rested her left hand behind her while she ate, Sumika nodded. Her head was resting on the palms of her hands.

"Have ya lost any team members?"

"Fortunately, we haven't."

"I see." finishing her granola bar, Yabase turned to tower over Sumika with a serious look, "Yer weren't wit yo family?"

Sumika's face fell instantly, "No. My dad and brothers were competing at the Gyofukan dojo. I found out earlier today that the dojo was ...destroyed in one of the explosions two days ago."

Yabase nodded solemnly then asked, "And that live in housekeeper of yours?"

"I don't know. Noe-san was out buying groceries when it happened." Raw emotion was beginning to built up inside Sumika and she started taking deep measured breaths.

"Do yer think..."

"I don't know, Yabase-san. All I can do is hope right?"

"Indeed." Lying down on her back, Yabase was reminded that she wasn't the only one suffering, "I'm lucky in the sense that I know my family's safe an' sound back in Osaka. If this hadn't spread that far..."

"You don't have to worry, the government has locked this town down completely. The virus won't spread anywhere else. Your family is safe." Sumika confirmed.

"That's a relief. It's just me but I got the feeling that yer old man wouldn't go down so easily. And your 3 idiot brothers are really fast runners, especially when it comes to escaping a challenger! Noe-san's gotta be one tough cookie if she managed to take care of you Murasame's for so long, dontcha think?"

Regardless of how silly Yabase sounded, Sumika couldn't help but feel like there was some truth behind her words. Feeling much better, Sumika smiled gratefully, enjoying the surge of hope growing inside her, "Yeah. You're probably right."

"Whaddaya mean probably? I'm always right! Let's go back inside'kay? I don't know about'chyou, but I'm freezing out here!"

"Lead the way."

Packing up their things, the duo unhurriedly made their way inside.

Just before they entered through the back door, Yabase whispered, "Thanks Sumika. For being here with me right now." and then she beamed genuinely.

Unbeknown to either of them, Kazama and Tomoe had been watching them the entire time from the bedroom upstairs.

_'Murasame Sumika. How can you ditch Kazama-kun for that Karate meathead? Or are you just distracting yourself by hanging out with that girl? Seriously, what do you want? Here I thought giving you a friendly 'shove' would result in the two of you finally ending up together and yet... this happened.' _Glancing at Kazama's quivering form, Tomoe sighed, _'You are such an idiot, Murasame-kun.'_

Placing a hand on Kazama's shoulder, Tomoe was surprised by what she saw, "Kazama-kun. Why are you..."

Tomoe's mind began reeling, _'Could it be that I miscalculated? Could it be that all this time... Kazama-kun... Kazama-kun was already aware of her feelings for Murasame-kun? No, I can't jump to conclusions like that. I have to be sure.'_

"Kazama-kun... Why are you crying?"

"I... I... Tomoe-chan... I... I think... " Kazama whimpered.

_'Please God. Please let me be right!' _Tomoe thought.

"I think I may... have... have feelings for Sumi-chan." she finished.

_'BOOYEAH! FIST-PUMP! I WAS RIGHT!'_

"What makes you think so?" Tomoe spoke, her voice calm in stark contrast to what she was feeling inside.

Wiping her tears away, Kazama explained, "I.. I... I'm not too sure. It's just, I've been having weird feelings lately and when I thought that maybe it was because I was in love with Sumi-chan, my heart started racing and suddenly, everything just kind of...clicked. If that makes any sense..."

"It makes perfect sense."

"It does? But, what am I supposed to do now? Sumi-chan isn't like that. And I can't stand having her think I'm disgusting! Sumi-chan's the most important person to me and if... if she were to..." tearing up again, Kazama couldn't contain the tears from overflowing once more.

Enveloping her in a hug Tomoe consoled her, "Sshh, Kazama-kun. Stop thinking so hard. Just do what your heart wants to do. What your heart desires right now."

"But... What about Takemi-san..."

"No, Kazama-kun. Don't think about Takemi-kun. Think about Murasame-kun."

"Sumi-chan?"

"Yes. Now tell me, what do you want to do right now?"

"I... I... I don't want to do anything, Tomoe-chan."

"Wait, WHAT? Ack, sorry. You just took me by surprise." _'No, no, no, no, NO! This is all going too well to fail right now! Damn it! Why do these two have to be such difficult and troublesome elephants!'_

"It's just... Sumi-chan's going through a lot and we're all trying to survive this crisis. Last thing I want is to complicate things between us."

_'Of course...*face-palm* Yeah. I give up.'_ Tomoe thought. "You sure about this?"

"Mm."

"Nothing I say would change your mind"

"Why would you want to change my mind?"

"No reason, I'm going to take a shower now." Tomoe announced, making her way out the door. Entering the other room where Aoi was happily humming to herself as she dried her hair, Tomoe asked, "Where's Miyako?"

"Oh, she's showering." Aoi answered, pointing to the closed bathroom door.

"Thanks." Without another word, Tomoe made her way to the toilet, knocked twice before entering. Sliding down to the floor with her back to the door, Tomoe released a massive sigh, "Mi. Ya. KO!"

"Tomoe-chan? What're you doing in here? Have you finished talking to the titty monster?" Miyako called from behind the shower screen. Sighing again, Tomoe rose and removed all her clothing to join Miyako in the shower.

Wrapping her arms around her lover's petite waist, she sighed, "Kazama-kun's in love with Murasame-kun as well."

Leaning into her lover's embrace Miyako asked, "That doesn't really explain why you sound like you just got run over by a truck."

Another sigh, "Kazama-kun doesn't want to 'complicate things between them' so she won't confess. Also, she thinks Murasame-kun is either straight or likes Takemi-kun. What's more is that she doesn't dare confess for fear of being called disgusting apparently."

"How stupid can they both get?" Miyako turned around in the embrace. Standing on her toes, she reached up to kiss her lover full on the lips.

"Tell me about it... Though it will be interesting to see how things progress from here." Tomoe whispered huskily into Miyako's ear before nibbling on it.

"Tomoe-chan, don't you dare leave me."

"I would never leave you, Miyako."

And the couple shared another heated kiss, both eager to make the most out of this rare opportunity where they were alone and won't be bothered by anyone.

* * *

Downstairs

"OWWW! Gosh, you really are violent, Violent Murasame!" Yabase howled, wrestling with Sumika for the shower head.

"Stop being childish! Your arm's already been infected! I have to clean it before it gets worst!" Sumika scolded. She had been trying to clean Yabase's wounds for the past 15 minutes already and instead of the injured being wet, she was soaked from head to toe. Irritation was radiating from her very being right now.

"You know, Yabase-san. With your injuries so severe, you're gonna have to get that arm amputated!" Blitz babbled. He had offered to help treat Yabase's wounds since he was bored and had the most medical experience.

_'Besides, judging by Sumika's own bandaged arms which are now drenched and covered in dirt, I highly doubted that Sumika knows how to take care of injuries. Properly, anyway.'_ Blitz thought.

"SAY WHAT? Yer ain't gonna amputate nothin' Sumika! Lemme go!" Yabase wailed, twisting in Sumika's slippery grip.

"You're NOT helping Blitz!" Sumika roared. Trying to keep Yabase's arm in place without actually hurting her, "No one's going to sever your arm! And do you boys have nothing better to do? SHADOW! What are you grinning about? "

"Ah, just the fact that you look like you're having a blast!" He mocked.

Sumika glared.

Shadow then cleared his throat and said, "Hey Yabase-san. I honestly thought you were a tough cookie earlier. What with your stoic face and confident voice. Guess I was mistakened."

"Shadow!?" Sumika scolded before realising that Yabase had stop squirming in her hold. "Yabase-san?"

"Hmmph! I was just acting! Can'tcha tell the difference, pretty boy?" Yabase claimed. Snatching the shower head from Sumika, she stuck it directly above her right arm where pus and blood was oozing from.

"Yabase-san, that's not how you do it! Are you trying to make yourself bleed to death?!" Sumika yelled, once again fighting over the shower head.

"I gotta prove to that snob that I am tough! No one messes with the Yabase Takemi!" She boasted.

"Ahh, yeah yeah. If you haven't noticed, Shadow's gone already." Sumika pointed out, grabbing the shower head and wash cloth as she began, as gently as she could, to scrub the pus, dirt and blood away.

When she was done, she ordered Yabase to follow Blitz to the dining room to get her arm dried and wrapped up. Making sure there wasn't any blood left in the toilet, she tried her best to dry herself off to no avail.

_'I could use a bath right now.'_ Sumika thought as she resisted the urge to remove her heavy and soaked through shirt.

As Sumika walked upstairs with her bag stuffed with clothes again, she began undoing the soggy bandages around her arms. Making sure to not drip any blood on the steps.

The water had caused the hardened scab to soften and she had begun bleeding from some parts where the cuts were deeper.

_'I should ask Blitz or Kazama to help me with them later on. But right now, I need a shower.' _

Walking into the nearest room, she saw Aoi blushing bright red as she stared out the window. She was about to ask what was wrong but once she got nearer, she realised why and flushed red as well.

_'What the heck do those two think they're doing? In the bathroom no less! I was going to shower in there!' _

Soundlessly, she backtracked and dashed into the second bedroom door before realising those 2 rooms had joined bathrooms. Swivelling on her heel, she left the room and walked into the last available room and there, by the window ledge, sat Kazama.

Her hair was luminous in the silver moonlight though her eyes seemed troubled and puzzled.

_'Did something happen while I was with Yabase-san?'_ Sumika asked herself, _'Kazama will definitely talk to me about it if she's so bothered by it. Anyway, I need to get out of these clothes asap! It's freezing!'_

"Hey Kazama." Sumika greeted. Kazama inhaled sharply as she leaped to her feet. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, Kazama."

"Oh, Sumi-chan! Guess I was a little lost in my thoughts earlier... Hehe."

"Right. Could I use the bathroom?"

"O-of course!" _'Sumi-chan's all wet... I wonder what happened just now.'_

"Thanks." shutting the door behind her, Sumika immediately pulled off her shirt and slowly began unfastening all the guns attached to her belt. Once she was done, she stepped into the western style shower stall. There was no hot water but Sumika was glad there was a steady spray of water to shower with.

Taking out a bottle of shampoo and soap from her bag, Sumika thoroughly enjoyed her shower. Taking her time to scrub her arms meticulously with soap.

When she was satisfied, Sumika towelled herself dry and pulled out some dry garments from her bag. Pulling a white V-neck shirt over her head and slipping on a pair of dark jeans, she redid her belt, hung up her wet clothes to dry and exited the bathroom.

Kazama was still sitting by the window ledge so Sumika went over to join her. Placing her bag and guns on the floor, she took a seat opposite Kazama who smiled sweetly. A light blush resting on her adorable cheeks.

"Have you showered?" Sumika asked as she reattached her guns and dagger to her belt and thigh. Unaware that Kazama's eyes had been following her every move.

"Yeah, I did. Earlier. The water was so cold." Kazama complained, turning back to look at the night sky through the window once Sumika was fully equipped.

"Not used to a cold shower?" Sumika chuckled, "You should join our Karate training sessions, Kazama. After each lesson, a cold shower really just washes the heat off you instantly!"

"Maybe. I do feel left out every time you guys go off practising Karate. Leaving me all alone." Kazama pouted while thinking, _'After telling Tomoe-chan... I really don't know how to act around Sumi-chan... How did I behave before?'_

"Sorry, Kazama... If I had known earlier, I would've-" Sumika blushed bright red and snapped her mouth close.

Kazama had leaned in close to her until their faces were inches apart. _'What is she doing? God, I can't stop staring at her eyes!'_ Sumika screamed inside her head.

"Ka-ka-kazama? Is something wrong?"

Shaking her head slightly, Kazama backed away, much to Sumika's relief, "I just wanted to see what colour your eyes were. On normal days, they're grey but tonight, they seem to be a shimmering silver. Must be the moon's effect."

"Oh, right..." Sumika sighed, "But, isn't silver and grey the same thing?"

"Of course not Sumi-chan!" Once again, Kazama leaned over and reached for the hand gun strapped to Sumika's hip, giving Sumika a peek of her shapely bust.

_'Oh Lord, does she even know what she's doing to me? I think I may just combust.' _Sumika thought as she forced her eyes to look away.

"You see this part, this part's silver! While this is grey!" Kazama explained, pointing to various parts of the gun. Sumika still couldn't see the difference except that one was more lustrous compared to the other. She was more focused on getting rid of the blush on her face.

A sudden voice caught her attention, "Hey Sumika! Your jacket." Yabase tossed a black garment at Sumika who caught it clumsily, "Dinner's ready." Yabase smirked, a knowing glint sparkled in her eyes for a second before disappearing.

"Right. We'll be down soon. Kazama?" Sumika called as she folded her jacket and kept it in her bag. Kazama seemed to be staring at the jacket. A faraway look in her chestnut brown orbs. "Kazama?"

Kazama blinked and her seraphical smile returned, "Come on, Sumi-chan! Dinner's ready and I'm starving~!" Jumping up all of a sudden, Kazama clung onto Sumika's arm and dragged her out of the room.

* * *

Everyone was downstairs, chatting, eating, laughing. Taking their seats opposite each other, Sumika took the chance to whisper in Tomoe's ear, "Did something happen with Kazama while I was with Yabase-san?"

Staring blankly at Sumika, Tomoe merely shrugged. Suddenly, Sumika recalled the events that happened earlier in the first room she entered and she backed away, blushing furiously.

"Is something wrong, Murasame-kun?"

"No. Nothing at all!" Sumika said a little too loudly.

"Ngaww, Sumika's all red! What didja do to her Hachisuka?" Yabase teased and the whole table burst out laughing causing Sumika to turn an even darker shade of red.

"She did nothing! Now shut up Yabase-san!" Sumika barked, throwing the raisins on her plate at her friend who only guffawed even louder.

Kazama who sat opposite Sumika thought, _'Sumi-chan's really cute when she's embarrassed like this. Though I think I prefer it when she's being her usual heroic self... Heh, that doesn't even make sense, I thought I liked cute things only? Oh my gosh, what's going on with me? I only realised my feelings for Sumi-chan a few hours ago and I'm not entirely sure about them, but I'm already wondering about things like this?'_

The rattling of a chair being pushed back caught Kazama's attention and her eyes went to their leader at the head of the table, "Everyone, I would like to officially have a toast to welcome our new comrade and ally into our ranks, I mean team." Kakashi corrected earning a few snickers, "To the young and talented Yabase Takemi."

Everyone raised their bottles, bumped them with each others and exclaimed in unison, "Cheers!"

"To Blitz and Ray who prepared dinner!"

"Cheers!"

"To the soldiers who have helped us so much!"

"Cheers!"

"To you girls who have made this journey so fun and exciting!"

"Cheers!"

"To our survival!"

"Cheers!"

* * *

After clearing up, everyone retired to the rooms upstairs except for the soldiers along with Sumika and Tomoe who remained behind to discuss certain matters first.

"So what's happening tomorrow?" Tomoe inquired.

"We wake up at 4 and leave at 5 am as per usual. Though I get the feeling we will leave a little later..." Kakashi explained, casting a glance around the house where clothes and other valuables have been strewn about.

"If we're not gone by 6 am, we'll stay another day. This neighbourhood is the last place we'll be staying for a night."

"You mean, if we leave tomorrow, we'll arrive at the borders before the day ends?" Sumika concluded.

"Yes. Which is why we should leave long before the sun rises!" Blitz grumbled. Had they not agreed to the burial ceremony, they'd have nothing to worry about.

"We could easily get everyone to pack up right now..." Shadow offered.

"It has been a long day. Let them rest."

"How far away are we, exactly?" Tomoe asked.

"It would take us about 5 hours by road to reach the outskirts of the town where the farmlands are. And from there, it is a 1-2 hour trek through the fields. And then we come to the last obstacle, a little village just before the forests that lead to the walls." Kakashi conveyed.

"WHAT?" Tomoe and Sumika demanded together.

"You guys have never mentioned forests!" Sumika pointed out. "Seriously, what's with you people and leaving important information out!"

"It was most definitely not our intention. Our informers had miscalculated our location and misinformed us. Only earlier today did we realise the path we had meant to take was different from the one our base had assumed we would take."

"If you look towards the walls from this hill, you'll be able to see what we're talking about."

"But, you girl's are worried about the wrong thing. Although the forest's pretty dense, what we're worried about is the community before the forests."

"No doubt that it's got shitloads of 'em zombies."

"There is doubt Ray, the town's miles away from the lab. We're either extremely lucky and the village is completely clean or we're not so lucky and the settlement's already been affected."

"What about the forests? Aren't those dangerous? It provides a dense cover for the zombies to lurk in."

"Not at all. Once you've entered the forests, you're safe. The entire military has the whole forest under their watch. It's the second last line of defence against the zombies. The wall and fence being the last. The place is full of mini cameras and snipers. The moment they spot us, they'll come to our aid within seconds. Unfortunately, whatever goes on outside the forests, isn't worth their time." Shadow clarified.

"If they have the forests under their control, why don't they move in and kill as many zombies as possible?"

"Because the military is already very spread out around this entire area. They cannot afford to send any more units into the battlefield."

"That's just stupid."

"Perhaps. But the government does not think so."

"Doesn't make it right."

"When it comes to a battle between 2 different groups of people, is there ever anything that can be considered as being right?" Kakashi challenged.

"Don't answer that Murasame! I'm exhausted so is there anything else we need to talk about?" Blitz whined.

"No, that will be all. You girls better get some rest too. Shadow and I will have first watch. Blitz, Ray. You have 4 hours so you better make it last!" Kakashi instructed.

"Ray, Blitz, we're taking the two smaller rooms. You can have the big room on the left hand side." Sumika said before Ray and Blitz disappeared up the stairs.

"Okay, thanks. Good night, everyone!"

"Nighty-nights ladies!"

* * *

Now, just 4 of them remained downstairs.

"Could you guys give me a hand in folding these things?" Sumika asked, moving to gather all the stray items everywhere.

"Of course."

The 4 set to work to clear up the mess. Packing the food and water into the baskets to load into the cars in the morning and sorting the weapons and other items based on their owners.

By the time they were done, an hour had passed. It was now 12 am and Sumika was beat. Mumbling a 'good night' to Shadow and Kakashi, she and Tomoe made their way up the stairs. Upon reaching the hallway, Sumika spotted her bag outside one of the doors while Tomoe went to the other door.

"Good night, Murasame-kun."

"Night." Sumika hummed as she entered, closed and locked the door behind her. The room was illuminated by one small candle. Looking around the empty room, she saw Aoi and Kazama both sleeping on separate blankets they had spread out on the floor.

The whole house was like this. The only piece of furniture the place had was the dining table and chairs downstairs.

Soundlessly, Sumika pulled out her black jacket and put it on. Using the blankets she brought from downstairs, she drapped them over Aoi and Kazama.

Pulling out another shirt from her bag, Sumika folded it into a neat rectangle then gently lifted Kazama's head to place the makeshift pillow under her. Kazama shifted in her sleep, mumbling something that sounded like 'Meanie and Sumi-chan'.

Sumika smiled and shivered slightly as a light breeze blew in from the ajar windows. Laying down on the cool hard wood beside Kazama, she crossed her arms across her chest in a faint attempt to stay warm.

Allowing her eyes to drift close, she hoped that sleep would come soon. Something about the way Kakashi had glanced at his men when she asked about the army not being mobilised to help civilians trapped in the city made her insides flip.

Disregarding those thoughts, she turned over and faced Kazama's defenceless sleeping face.

Using one hand Sumika tenderly carressed her secret crush's smooth and warm cheek, secretly wishing she could place a kiss on that very cheek. Tucking a stray strand of hair on Kazama's face behind her ear, Sumika whispered into the chilly night air, "I promise to protect you, Kazama. It'll all be over tomorrow. Tomorrow."

Sumika fell asleep seconds later.

* * *

Groggily opening her eyes, the first thing Kazama saw was Sumika's curled up and quivering form.

She frowned as she saw the layer upon layer of covers over her own small body. Scooting over, she hastily drapped her blankets over Sumika who continued to tremble.

Wrapping her arms around Sumika and pulling herself closer to the taller girl, she tried her best to ignore how cold Sumika's skin felt and how the dark-haired girl continued to shiver in her arms.

_'Sumi-chan should learn to be less selfless.' _Kazama thought as her hands began rubbing Sumika's back, trying to produce some heat. _'Sumi-chan's sleeping face is so cute! ...I wonder, should I be doing this? I mean, would Sumi-chan really want me to hold her like this? Of course not! She doesn't like me that way! I'll...I'll let her go once she's stopped shivering!' _

It was only seconds later when Sumika finally relaxed into Kazama's embrace so as promised, Kazama extracted her arms from around Sumika and shifted away slightly.

Unconsciously, Sumika extended her own arms around Kazama's waist and abruptly pulled the source of warmth back against her body causing the other girl to yelp in surprise.

Bodies pressed tightly together, Kazama's face turned beet red. She could feel the strong arms holding her in a secure embrace and she easily leaned into her best friend's embrace.

Not knowing where to put her hands, she innocently rested them on the taller girl's shoulders, where the nape of her neck curved downwards to her shoulder and arms.

Using her fingertips she delicately traced the soft, exposed skin, enjoying how the coiled-up muscles underneath tensed and relaxed under her feather-like touch.

_'Sumi-chan's body is so... hard. She must be the only girl that isn't soft and squishy.'_ Kazama concluded, prodding her own face for good measure, _'Every time Sumi-chan moves, I can feel her muscles tighten too.' _

Kazama blushed, _'Oh god, should I really be doing this? Isn't this considered sexual harrassment on my part? But I don't wanna move and Sumi-chan was the one who pulled me against her in the first place!' _She argued with her conscience.

_'It's to keep us both warm! Nothing else!'_ Kazama concluded at last, ending the little internal battle.

Shifting in her best friends protective arms, she whispered, "I'm glad you're the one I finally fell in love with, Sumi-chan. Because even though my love has always been unrequited, I don't mind if it's with you...because I know you'll never leave my side.

"You're the only person who has stuck with me for so long, watching me fall in and out of love so many times... Supporting me every time my heart gets broken... So maybe, you won't call me disgusting?

"However, that's exactly why I can't tell you how I feel. If I do, I know that you'd either realise how sickening I am and leave me... or force yourself to like me and I don't want that... I just want to stay by your side like this forever."

Kazama trailed off. Closing her eyes, she promptly fell asleep in the warm embrace, subconsciously snuggling closer to Sumika.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it... PLEASE REVIEW! I SERIOUSLY NEED TO KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS ON USHIO REALIZING HER FEELINGS! PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! IT WON'T TAKE MORE THAN 5 MINUTES! *insert super pouty, adorable, begging face*

Besides that, next chapter: more gore, more action, and there'll be a surprise as well ;D

Thanks for all your support!


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